Continuum T
by Maruno
Summary: The first saga in the very large story of life. The story of one man's journey to the ultimate conclusion. Enjoy. The first saga is now complete. Chapters 1 and 2 have been updated.
1. The Beginning

Disclaimer: I do not claim to have any part of DragonBall Z, Tenchi Muyo!, Digimon, Pokémon, Medabots, Martian Successor Nadesico, Neon Genesis Evangelion, The Matrix, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Galaxy Quest, Sliders or Star Trek. This fan-fiction was created without the respective owners' consent, and was created entirely for entertainment. I do not wish to accept any rewards as a result of writing this fiction. The plot is, as far as I am aware, entirely my idea, with the possible exception of the middle of this story. All characters portrayed in this fiction are fictitious, and any resemblances to any events, previous fictions or persons living or dead are purely coincidental.

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            The following fiction of eleven episodes contains scenes of mild fantasy violence, and scenes pertaining to other works. Anyone not familiar with them, especially Tenchi Muyo! or DragonBall Z, will not understand some of the references. The following fiction has been classified R, for readable. This fiction is intended for home viewing only, and public showing of any kind lies against the author's wishes. That isn't to say that it's illegal. The author really couldn't care less, as long as it gets read. This all just makes the whole thing sound more official, so as to give you a disillusioned view of what is to come. I frankly find this rather boring.

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            Additional: Due to particular feedback, the author has decided to rewrite this chapter, and possibly others in the future. However, any chapters that may be updated will not be marked in the title, but in the description instead.

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Continuum T, Part I – The Beginning (beta)

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Calm. Nothingness. Serene.

            Sparks travelled up her body and entered her brain. Here their message was interpreted. They said pain.

Again, more sparks. Electrical messages travelled throughout her nervous system, encouraging her to stop. But she wouldn't. She couldn't. The suffering was unbearable, yet she must bear it. It would all be over soon.

            Another contraction. They were coming almost non-stop. Her face was scarlet from the pushing. The doctor was saying something, but the pain drowned him out. Her vision was blurred, also from the agony, not letting her see the doctor clearly enough to even guess at his words. She continued pushing. The sooner this child was independent of her, so much the better. She squeezed her eyes closed so tightly that spots of colour danced around her eyesight.

            The pain signals suddenly lessened dramatically, becoming effectively irrelevant now. She snapped her eyes open, seeking the cause of this strange sensation. Her sight cleared in a matter of seconds, allowing her to see one of the nurses carrying away a towel wrapped around a... bundle, of some sort. The mother smiled. It could only be the child. The being she had carried around inside of her for the past nine months.

            She reached out a shaking hand towards the infant. A strong hand grasped it from her side and squeezed it gently. She looked up, into her husband's eyes, filled with love and admiration. His smile was warm and soothing. He leaned over and kissed her lips softly. She smiled in return and relaxed. A new life existed today.

            The mother then pulled herself up to a sitting position on the sterile hospital bed to receive the child into her embrace. It was silent, and apart from twitching slightly, was still. It looked asleep.

            "I guess all his mother's hard work made him tired," the father said.

            "It's a boy?" the mother asked.

            "Yes, it's a boy," the husband confirmed.

            The mother smiled. She had always wanted a boy. There were many names she liked to suit boys.

            "Alexander," she said.

            "Alex? What about Jonathon?"

            "What about Philip?" she said. "I like them all. But he can only have one name."

            "So what shall it be?" the husband asked.

            "Tenchi."

            The voice surprised them. The doctors had all left the room, leaving only those three in there, for some privacy. The room was soundproofed, so as not to disrupt the rest of the hospital with maternal screaming. Neither of the parents had said that word. They looked at the baby. It remained still. Then it moved slightly, almost as if trying to become more comfortable. It then stopped and opened its eyes. Not slowly, as is natural for most other children in the same situation, but immediately, just like the second part of a blink. The parents gasped in shock. The baby's brown eyes were elongated like a cat's, giving a feline impression of the child. He blinked, and once his eyelids reopened, his eyes were normal.

            "Wh... what was that?" the mother gasped.

            "Tenchi," the baby said. He squealed with laughter and clapped his hands.

            "T... Tenchi?" the father said. "Y... you want to be called Tenchi?"

            The baby squealed again.

            "I, um, I guess Tenchi is a name," the father said.

            "Tenchi. Sure." The mother was still stunned. "That's his name."

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            It was ten years later. Tenchi Anderson was in his final year of his primary school education. In just under two weeks he and his friends would leave the school, never to return again. It was a sobering thought, and it was currently provoking Tenchi to be more outgoing, as he was naturally a quiet person, keeping himself to himself. Tenchi was a handsome boy, with short dark brown hair and brown eyes. He wasn't overweight, nor was he too thin. He was intelligent for his age, but not overly so. His ability to speak since birth had at first been marvelled over, but then slowly dismissed. Nothing could explain it, so in the end, his parents had just left it alone.

            It was a warm early July day, typical for that time. It created an ambience of enjoyment and playfulness. So naturally Tenchi was just relaxing on the school playing fields with his friends, talking idly about things.

            "Hey, did you hear?" one of his friends spoke. "That creature that destroyed the mansion in America has come over here."

            "Isn't there an ocean between us and America?" another friend said. "How did it get over here then? I don't think the planes would give it a flight."

            "No," Tenchi laughed. "Imagine that. 'Hi, I'm the evil creature that's been destroying things all over the place. Can I have a ticket to England, please?'"

            The others laughed. They were simple times, and they were still young.

            "Do you really think it could destroy the world, though?" the first friend asked. She was interested in this, because she was the kind of person that liked to be aware of everything that was going on. "It did say it could do it."

            "Could do."

            "I don't want to make it angry, though," Tenchi said. "Hey, what if it's after you?"

            "Why would it be after me?"

            "I don't know," Tenchi said. "But if it was, what would you do?"

            "Probably book the next flight to the moon," the companion laughed. "I wouldn't want to be anywhere near it if it was after me."

            "Me too."

            "And me."

            Simple times, and simple lives indeed. Tenchi had no idea what was about to happen. It would change his life forever.

            A being walked through the school gate a little distance behind the group, largely unnoticed. Those who did notice it, however, were puzzled at its appearance. It wore a long cloak, obscuring its whole figure. Shapes of odd protrusions from the figure were visible underneath the black cloak. The children who had seen the figure stared for a small while as it walked up the path towards the school building, and then dismissed it and continued with their previous fixations. People had come in to the school before, visitors, mainly. This one probably just didn't like the sun.

The being walked up to the building, and then turned and surveyed the playing children. It was looking for something, or rather, someone. It spotted him, lying on the grass and propping himself up on his elbows. The being advanced.

            "Hey, check it out," one of the group said. "Over there." He gestured towards the cloaked stranger approaching them. Everyone there turned to look. They watched the figure with suspicion as it stopped about two metres from their position.

            "I'm looking for someone," the being spoke, the chilling raspy voice unnerving the children. "He is the strongest person on this planet."

            A girl frowned. "I'm sorry, but I don't think you'll find him here. We're just kids, you know."

            "Quite the contrary. He is here. I believe you go by the name of Tenchi Anderson."

            Silence ensued. Then Tenchi laughed. "I don't know what anyone's told you, but I'm not the strongest man alive. If I was, I'd be able to lift a car over my head, but I can't."

            "So you are Mr Anderson," the being said, in a voice that could unnerve most people. "I've found you at last. But strength is not measured in muscular ability, but rather in potential ability. The potential you have makes you the strongest being on this planet. However, it doesn't look like you've been able to use this hidden power of yours. Pity. It would have been a great boost for me if you could."

            "What are you talking about?"

            "I challenge you to a fight." At this it raised its hand and pointed towards Tenchi. It was a hand more suited as part of a Halloween costume. It was green with black spots, and segmented at each joint, like an armoured glove. "A fight to the death."

            Tenchi choked. He must have heard it wrong. "W... what?"

            "A fight do the death," the stranger repeated. "If I defeat you, the most powerful person on this planet, my reputation will go up, and I will gain experience from the battle, bringing me closer to my goal of perfection. If you should decline, however, I will destroy everyone on this planet."

            "And, and why should we think you're that strong?" Tenchi stammered.

            "Because I have strength beyond your reach. I have trained my entire existence, and now I am stronger than anyone in the galaxy. Now, the fight." With this the being cast away its cape, revealing a green body, also segmented, also with black spots. Its face was thin, again having black spots on a green background. A long orange raised vertical stripe appeared where the mouth and nose should be, like some kind of breathing mask, which continued under his chin. A large two-pointed crest was the top of its head, with an oval-shaped black thing in the middle, like a black pearl or something. A larger black pearl appeared in the middle of its chest, above orange rings encircling its waist. Muscles were clearly visible everywhere, and from its back large wing-shaped protrusions appeared. A long tail snaked around from behind it, with a white pointed section on the end. The overall impression was monstrous, of something resembling an armoured humanoid reptilian demon. It was the creature that had terrorised many other places, in its apparent search for Tenchi. And now it had found him.

            "Fight me, or I will destroy everyone on this planet!" the being threatened. "Fight me, and I will spare the others. Choose."

            Tenchi slowly stood up.

            "Tenchi, what are you doing?" a girl said worriedly. "You're not going to fight him, are you?"

            "I don't have a choice. If I at least fight him, he said he'd spare everyone else."

            "But he's going to kill you!"

            "Stay out of this, little girl," the creature said. "It doesn't concern you." He pushed his palm out towards her, and a strong blast of wind sent her soaring through the air. Others who had also been caught by this reeled backwards.

            "Are you okay?" Tenchi called. He turned to face the stranger. "I don't care if you can destroy everything. Nobody hurts my friends. Let's fight, um, who are you?"

            "I am Sel. Know that name, and fear it. For I am your destruction!" Sel narrowed his eyes at Tenchi. The others who hadn't been knocked back had moved away from the two. "But since you don't have any proper strength, I'll try to unlock it for you. Let us begin."

            As soon as he had said that, Sel ran forward with incredible speed, clenched fist at his side. He swung upwards and hit Tenchi right in the chest, sending him flying fully ten metres away. He landed and rolled, coming to a stop in an unsightly heap. Slowly, Tenchi pulled himself up, wincing from the pain. He readied himself in a defensive position.

            "I must say I'm impressed, Mr Anderson. Not many people can stand up to a hit like that. And even if they could they usually stayed down. Not that it was my strongest at all; I'm just trying to squeeze this so-called ultimate strength out of your pathetic scrawny body."

            Sel darted forwards again, readying for another punch. Because of the distance between them, it became obvious that Sel didn't touch the ground as many times as convention dictates. It almost seemed as though he was half flying.

            Tenchi readied himself. Sel thrust out his fist, and Tenchi caught it with his hand. The other hand grasped Sel's wrist and threw Sel behind him. Tenchi turned to face him.

            Sel flipped in mid-air and landed on his feet facing his thrower. "Very impressive, Mr Anderson."

            Tenchi stared at his hands. Had he done that? He never knew he had such reflexes. It seemed that his instinct had just taken over. He looked up.

            Sel darted forward again, but stopped just in front of Tenchi. Tenchi stepped backwards. Sel started punching Tenchi rapidly. Tenchi deflected the first punch, dodged the second, but was hit squarely by the third. He lost his focus, and was hit several more times, all in the chest. Sel swung his leg around and kicked Tenchi's side, sending him crumpled to the floor. Sel grabbed his arm and ran towards the school building, dragging Tenchi behind him, thoroughly dazed. He stopped just in front of the wall and swung his arm around, momentum smashing Tenchi against the wall.

            "Come on!" Sel said. "Let's see this power of yours."

            Still holding his arm, he hauled Tenchi up, ran backwards a few metres and threw him against the wall again. The force made Tenchi run towards the wall. Just then, Tenchi came back to his senses. Before he hit the wall again, he jumped at it and ran up it about five steps. Just before gravity reclaimed him, he pushed off the wall, back flipped over Sel and landed on his feet behind him. He jumped forwards at the stunned Sel and hit his stomach, knocking him on his back. Tenchi grabbed his arm at the wrist and pulled it upwards, swinging it around and sending Sel hurtling against the wall. He smashed against the building, causing a dent in the brick surface. Sel dropped to his knees, then picked himself up. He looked at Tenchi and grinned.

            "Very impressive, Mr Anderson," he praised. "Very impressive indeed. Your powers are beginning to show themselves." Sel noticed a feeling of moisture coming from his mouth. He wiped it away and looked at the purple blood now on his hands. He frowned. "But you're still not invincible." With that Sel sprang forwards, flew round behind Tenchi and caught his arms in a lock. He clasped his hands together behind Tenchi's neck, ensuring escape was impossible. Tenchi cried out in pain. "For you see, Mr Anderson," Sel shouted above the yells, "I am still far more powerful than you. And for your arrogance, you will pay with your life." Sel tightened his grip, provoking yet more screams.

            What arrogance? What had Tenchi ever done to him? He had no idea, but as long as he was being crushed to death, he decided not to think about this. He yelled in pain instead.

            Everyone around had either seen what was happening, or had heard the shouting, so they had all rushed to the scene. They moved away again once they saw who was causing the pain. One teacher stepped forwards, not quite sure of what to do. "Get off him right now!" he shouted. Sel turned his head to look at him, and narrowed his eyes. Another blast of wind hit the teacher, sending him flying into some of the children. Some of the younger ones were screaming and crying.

            Something changed. Tenchi realised that he had to do something more to try and survive, but he didn't know what. He was sure it was something important, though. And that's when he had a feeling, an instinct, like someone was whispering to him the solution. He should use his powers, the powers Sel had talked about. He could use them, the voice whispered, so do so. Trust in it.

            Tenchi's screams of pain were replaced with other screams, screams analogous to a weight lifter attempting his maximum. Strange sensations started going through his body. The brown of Tenchi's eyes darkened. His hair was growing longer and darker. Dust and loose stones on the playground started to billow away from the locked pair. Sel's eyes widened in astonishment as he turned back to his captive. Suddenly he was thrown back, forced to release his hold on Tenchi. He looked at his former captive and gasped. A white translucent flaming aura was rushing up around Tenchi's body, disappearing above his head in one big flame surrounding him. His hair was long enough now to rest on his shoulders, although it didn't. Instead it was waving around, half standing up on his head. The hairs were also gathered into perhaps a dozen groups, each behaving like wet hair does. Its colour had also changed to black. Tenchi was standing, head bowed, perfectly still. He turned to face Sel. It then became obvious that not just his hair had changed. Large muscles stood out though the school uniform, and his eyes were black circles on a white background. These eyes glared at Sel.

            "What, what are you?" Sel exclaimed. "Your power, it's immense!"

            "Sel, you have threatened this planet's extinction," Tenchi responded. His voice was different, somehow more confident than before. "And as a result you must be punished."

             Sel regained his composure. "So you're stronger. So what? You're still nothing compared to me." He lunged forwards, launching a barrage of fists at Tenchi. The flames around Tenchi disappeared, being sucked upwards into nothing. He raised his palms towards Sel and blocked every one of his punches. He didn't seem to be completely concentrating on the actual punches, instead moving his hands as though it were part of a routine. Annoyed, Sel stepped backwards and swung his leg towards his opponent. Tenchi's forearm blocked the kick.

            "What?" Sel yelled. "How did you become so strong so quickly? Tell me!" Sel rushed forwards again with a fresh volley of fists. Tenchi ducked underneath it and slammed his palm against his chest. Sel was launched backwards and landed sprawled on the floor. He got up slowly, wiping the purple blood away from his mouth. He raised his hand towards Tenchi, a ball of light forming in his palm. "Try this, Mr Anderson!" he said, the anger apparent in his voice. "Even you can't block this energy attack. It's unstoppable!"

            Tenchi pounced forwards, catching Sel by surprise. He slammed straight into the creature's chest, knocking him to the floor. The ball of light in Sel's hand flew upwards, away into the sky, before exploding with a huge bang.

            Tenchi stood back up, as did Sel. Tenchi clenched his fist at his side. It started glowing red.

            "Go away!" Tenchi yelled, bringing his fist forwards in an upward direction. Just before contact the glowing fist released a bright red beam of light at Sel. It passed straight through him and continued up into the sky. Tenchi quickly withdrew his fist, instantly stopping the beam. He was shocked at what had happened. He couldn't explain what he had just done. Sel slowly raised a hand towards the hole that was now there in his chest. He looked at Tenchi, his expression one of overwhelming shock.

            "Neo," he said weakly. "You are the One." Then he toppled backwards onto the floor. Upon hitting the surface he exploded into a cloud of dust, which settled on the ground. Tenchi gazed wide-eyed at where Sel had just been, and then at his hand.

            "Did I do that?" he murmured. "What have I done?"

            Tenchi's hair dropped down, each clump separating, becoming normal hair again. It returned to its previous brown colour and rested on his shoulders. His eyes returned to their normal colour. He looked round at the other children, who were dumbstruck at what they had just seen. Tenchi himself had equal disbelief.

            "Did I do that?" he repeated.

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            Unknown to everyone present, two beings were watching the event that had just happened. They weren't visible to anyone, and they didn't know that the other was also there. However both these people would influence Tenchi's life dramatically. One of these beings nodded and faded away.

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            "Excuse me. Is Tenchi here?" the woman asked. She had gone to Tenchi's house two weeks after the incident. The woman wore a long black cape tied at the neck. The hood was up, obscuring most of her face with shadow, but the part of her face that was visible showed that she was quite attractive.

            "Yes," Tenchi's mother said warily. "Why?"

            "I wish to speak with him. It is quite important that I do so." The woman's voice was smooth and slightly cold, yet very persuasive.

            "Okay, I'll get him. Do you want to come in?"

            "No, thank you. If it's all right with you, I would like to go for a walk with Tenchi. I shall return him later this afternoon."

            "That's fine by me. TENCHI!" she called.

            "What?" Tenchi asked, walking towards the door where the women were. Tenchi had become very recluse after what had happened. After Sel had disappeared, everyone had asked him questions, to which he didn't know the answers. He wanted to know what had happened himself. Whatever that was, it was scary. He froze when he caught sight of the caped woman. Capes now reminded him of that day.

            "Please don't worry. I mean no harm," the lady assured. "I would like to talk with you on the subject of two weeks ago. I can provide answers."

            Tenchi's mother didn't understand what this was about. She had heard rumours about Tenchi doing something at school about two weeks ago, but Tenchi was very reluctant to talk about it. She had managed to not get hold of the facts from elsewhere. Tenchi did understand, though, and was interested at the prospect of some of his questions being answered, despite this strange woman that was offering this.

            "Okay," Tenchi said cautiously.

            "Good. Mrs Anderson, he will be back later. Tenchi, I would like you to take a walk with me."

            "Fine," Tenchi said.

            They set off. After about a minute of silence, the woman spoke.

            "Do you know what happened to you during the fight with Sel? Do you know how and why you transformed?"

            "Transformed? What?"

            "No, then. Tenchi, the battle with Sel forced you to become in contact with your powers. All humans have such hidden powers. However, very few have the ability to use them. And they are all certainly not as young as you."

            "How many are there?"

            "As far as I know, there are two hundred others in the galaxy who can achieve what you can. When you transformed, you rose to the next level of human ability. Almost everyone, with those exceptions, never get past the first level. However, you and those other few hundred have ascended to the second level, also known as the Saiyan level. You have the ability to transform into a Saiyan."

            "A Saiyan? Is my hair growing part of the transformation?"

            "Part of it, yes. You will not have noticed it, but the brown parts of your eyes and your hair also turned black."

            "What about those flames around me?"

            "They were merely a physical manifestation of your power. With the transformation, you also increased your power immensely. That is how you were able to defeat Sel after becoming a Saiyan."

            "But how did I transform at all?"

            "A common feature with the first transformation into a Saiyan is that all the people were under enormous strain and stress. It becomes necessary for them to become a Saiyan to remain alive, and so they do so."

            "If that's the case, why aren't there more Saiyans? Surely people other than us few have been in that kind of situation."

            "Yes. However, you Saiyans have special potential. It is extremely rare, and only those with this special potential can become Saiyans."

            "Oh. How did I get this potential? Is it genetic?"

            "No. You just have a strong soul. You see, every sentient being anywhere has a mind, a body and a soul. The body is of course the physical presence of the person. The mind, otherwise known as the subconscious, is the part of the person that thinks. It is connected to the body by the brain. You see, the brain doesn't function by itself. It is merely a relay between the mind and body. The soul, otherwise known as the spirit, life force, essence or chi, is the part of a person that gives them energy to exist. It is their life force. You have a strong life force, a strong soul, and it is this that allows you to become a Saiyan."

            "Doesn't eating food provide energy, not the soul?"

            "No. Well, yes, it does, but only for the maintenance of the body. If the energy from food is used up, then the body starts using energy from the soul. Once the soul has little enough energy, it will no longer be able to hold onto the body, and that person will die."

            "You mean starve to death?"

            "Yes."

            "I have a question. When Sel died, he called me Neo. What did he mean?"

            "Ancient scriptures and writings have foretold a person, a Chosen One, who would become the strongest person in all of reality. They refer to him as being called Neo. One scripture says that he would become a Saiyan before his fifteenth birthday, and would advance again beyond that before his twenty-fifth birthday. I can provide you with copies of these writings for you to study. Sel had obviously read these writings and thought that you were Neo. This is why he called you that."

            "Do they refer to me then? Am I Neo?"

            "I believe so, and so do my acquaintances. This is why I am helping you, and why I shall do what I am here to do."

            "What is that?"

            The woman did not reply. They walked in silence a bit longer. Then the woman spoke again.

            "Tenchi, I am about to tell you the main reason for my visit. But first you must understand some things. The mind, body and soul are each represented by a goddess. The mind is personified by the god Washu. She is the most intelligent of the Trinity, the three gods. The soul is embodied by Tsunami, the life giver, and the body by Tokemi, god of the physical existence of a person."

            "Really? Why do I need to understand that?"

            "It will help you in later life. You must also understand that there are people who exist on other planets."

            "Aliens exist?"

            "Not all of them are aliens. There are many trillions of beings of the same species as you. They are all human beings, all _homo__ sapiens_. And some of these people are bad. About eleven years ago, a being was detected with an unusually strong soul. This person had not been born yet; it was a three-week-old embryo. Its mother did not know that she was pregnant. A man, greedy for power, removed the embryo from its real mother and placed it into a surrogate mother. This surrogate mother was also pregnant, although she knew it. Her child was removed, unknown to her, and the special embryo replaced it. The other child was killed in the process."

            "Why?"

            "This man wanted to study it. He kept it alive artificially whilst he confirmed that it did have a strong soul. Unfortunately, removing the embryo nearly killed its mother. She did survive, but her womb was irreparably damaged. The baby couldn't be put back into her."

The woman sighed. "The embryo is you, Tenchi. You are the one that was placed into a surrogate family."

            "Me? My family? My mum and dad aren't my real parents? Why didn't they tell me?"

            "They didn't know. They had no idea anything was wrong. I know this comes as a shock, but you must trust me. If you were anyone else I wouldn't be doing this. But if you are Neo, as all evidence seems to suggest, then you need to develop your powers and learn to control them. Your real family can help you do that. That is why I am taking you to see them."

            "Why should I trust you?" Tenchi asked. "For all I know, you're lying about all of this."

            "You know it is the truth," the woman replied. "You trust me. You don't know why, but you know I would never lie. And you also know I can help you."

            She was right. Tenchi did trust her, for some reason. "So who are they? My real family?"

            "Your father's name is Nobuyuki Masaki and your grandfather's name is Katsuhito. They live in Japan, in the Okayama province."

            "What about my mother? And my other grandparents?"

            "They have all died. Your grandparents died from old age, because their souls became too weak to continue sustaining them, and your mother died a month ago. I'm sorry. You must be devastated."

            "You cannot begin to know how I feel."

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In the next episode of Continuum T:

            Tenchi's grown up, and has a brand new outfit to try on, along with some nifty jewellery. A female friend spends the night with him, and his new powers come in handy when he encounters a familiar person in "New Friends, Old Enemies". Will Tenchi be up to the challenge, or will he fail in entertaining his guest? Find out in the next episode of Continuum T. 

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Please email me your comments and queries at chosen_one123@hotmail.com. Any and all questions are valid, and will all be read. I will personally reply, as I don't have much of a life outside this computer. I thank you for your support of this story


	2. New Friends, Old Enemies

Previously on Continuum T:

            The series has now taken off. Tenchi, our protagonist hero, has discovered that he has strange powers. His Saiyan form made its first appearance against Sel, this fanfic's first villain, and now Tenchi has to live with the consequences. Fortunately, everyone who knew about this has forgotten, thanks to a strange woman who seemingly has all the answers. Yes, I think that sums it up.

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            Continuum T, Part II – New Friends, Old Enemies (beta)

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            Tenchi had left his surrogate family two days after meeting the strange woman and had gone to live with his real family in Japan. The strange woman had erased everyone's memories of Tenchi Anderson. She had also given Tenchi a small house close to the bus stop he would have to use to go to school every day. This house and his school were in England. However, an interspatial portal connected his house in England and his parent's house in Japan, so he could traverse the huge distance in seconds. Tenchi would visit his family every holiday. It couldn't be more frequent than that, because of the large difference in the time zones.

            Tenchi had grown to be a very quiet person, having hardly any friends. This was because he had seen the destruction his abilities caused, and he was afraid that if he was more extrovert he would accidentally reveal his ability to use them. Everyone would then reject him, being afraid of him, and his life would become very miserable. So instead, he suppressed his powers, or what he termed abilities.

            Tenchi's grandfather, Katsuhito, related to him on his late mother's side, had taken to training Tenchi. This entailed maintaining the Masaki Shrine near to where they lived. When he wasn't doing that he trained in sword technique. His grandfather made him do this. Tenchi didn't particularly mind, as he rather enjoyed it.

            And so Tenchi Masaki, as he was now, lived that way for about a year.

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"A terrible incident has occurred in Manchester." The report came on while Tenchi was watching the news. He began to pay attention.

            "Terrorists, believed to be part of the IRA, have detonated a bomb inside Manchester Shopping Centre. Mass destruction was caused, and several tens of people were killed. Hundreds more were injured from the blast and debris. These pictures are of the scene just moments after the explosion."

            The screen changed to show pictures of the event. Tenchi watched them in horror. He hated anyone to be hurt. What was worse was the fact that he could have used his developing abilities to stop, or at least contain the explosion, preventing the deaths. He had even had a feeling that something bad was happening about half an hour before the attack. This was Tenchi's growing ability to use foresight, to see into the future to see what was going to happen. It seemed that it developed when he was meditating, which was now a part of his daily routine.

            Tenchi had developed many other abilities since the start of his training with his grandfather, since he knew he had the ability to develop them. He had kept all his powers secret from even his family, so he was alone in knowing he had them.

            But Tenchi was becoming more and more frustrated. He could have stopped it. He could have prevented the destruction and death. But he knew he couldn't. He needed some kind of disguise. If he showed up using his powers without one, he would be cast out of normal society. The problem was that he didn't have one.

            Tenchi thought. He remembered how that strange woman from a year ago had helped him. Maybe she could help him again, by providing some sort of disguise.

            As if bidden by his thoughts, the doorbell rang. Tenchi went to answer it. The woman was outside.

            "You said you kept an eye on me," Tenchi said. "But I didn't know you could hear my thoughts."

            "But you can read mine," the woman said. "Surely it wouldn't be fair otherwise?"

            "I guess not," Tenchi replied. "Why are you here, anyway?"

            "You want a disguise, so you can be a super hero and save the world. I have delivered you one." She held out her hand. Two golden rings were in her palm. Blood red circular stones were set into them. In gold lettering appeared the two kanji symbols spelling Tenchi's name, one on each ring. Tenchi took them, inspecting them in wonderment.

            "The symbol spelling 'Ten' should go on your left middle finger. The symbol for 'chi' should be on the corresponding finger of the other hand. To activate them, and the disguise, clench your fists and think about triggering it to happen. To turn back, do the same but think about returning to normal clothing."

            "Wow, thanks," Tenchi said. He put on the rings and looked at them.

            "There is another thing," the woman said. She pulled out what looked like a pen. "This contains several thousand tiny machines called nanobots. They can repair nearly all body damage, and destroy infections. You will never become ill, and will never be irreparably injured." She leaned forwards and injected the contents of the pen into Tenchi's neck. Tenchi didn't feel a thing.

            "With that done, I shall go." She turned and walked down the path to the road.

            "Wait!" Tenchi called after her. "You've done so much for me, and I don't even know your name. Please tell me who you are."

            "I am someone concerned with your future," the woman replied. She continued walking. When she reached the end of the driveway she faded into the air.

            Tenchi looked on in astonishment.

--------------------

It was five years later, take a few months. Tenchi was now in the Lower Sixth Form of his school, a term given to those in Year 12, for 16-17 year olds. The disguise had worked well, being simple black clothing with red and gold decoration. A long black overcoat completed the look, but what was most striking was the mask. It covered the left side of Tenchi's face completely, and extended into the other half, stretching across his cheek and forehead in a seemingly random way. The mask was silver, and hid enough of his face to avoid being recognised, but still allowing him to see with one eye, and did not cover his mouth, so allowing him to speak. He had not chosen an identity, but everyone referred to him as the Masked Man, so that was the name he adopted.

            Over the past few years he had prevented some major disasters, and many minor incidents. He had an affinity for cats, and kept one as a pet, which he called Chibi. He had also slowly relaxed, and now had several friends, one of whom in particular he liked. Her name was Sakuya, a fellow Japanese student. She had moved to England with her parents several years ago. She had short near-black hair, which she always tied with a ribbon. Her eyes were blue-green, and her face was beautiful and delicate. She enjoyed being with Tenchi, because he was so kind and considerate. His years of shyness had given him those attributes.

            Tenchi and Sakuya happened to take the same bus home every day. While they travelled they talked. Today was one such day. They were talking about general things, and in particular one of Sakuya's problems. She had been attracted to a boy at school, but he had blown her off when she had tried to approach him.

            They were still talking as they neared Tenchi's stop. Sayuka's was still several miles away.

            "Listen," Tenchi said. "Why don't you come to my place? I don't mind, and we can talk more then."

            "Are you sure it's alright?" Sakuya asked.

            "Yes, of course. You can phone your parents and tell them you're staying over at my house. Unless you were going to do something tonight?"

            "No, nothing. I'll come," Sakuya said.

            So they disembarked. The weather was less than perfect, being as it was pouring with rain. They ran the ten-minute walk to Tenchi's house, where they went in, soaking wet.

            "Why don't you go change out of those wet clothes?" Tenchi suggested. "I've got a kimono upstairs you can wear."

            "Really? Thanks." Sakuya went upstairs to Tenchi's room and changed. Meanwhile Tenchi tried to dry himself off with a towel, whilst starting to prepare dinner.

            Sakuya came downstairs in the kimono. It was a fairly basic design, light blue in colour. Tenchi then went upstairs to change. He put all the wet clothes near a radiator to dry. He went back down and talked with Sakuya as he continued preparing dinner.

            Tenchi washed his hands and went into the main room.

            "Dinner should be ready in about half an hour," he announced.

            "Great, I'm starving," Sakuya said. She was looking at one of the many paintings hung up on the wall. They were all very finely done, and were almost like photographs.

            "Do you like them?" Tenchi asked. "I painted them all myself."

            "Really? No way."

            "Yes way."

            "So what does this painting mean?" Sakuya pointed to a painting of a man standing between two tall trees. The sky was a dark purple, and showed stars and small galaxies. The man had two swords, one long and one short, in either hand. He stood in a resting position. His clothing was that of a swordsman.

            "That painting is me. What?" he asked at the sceptical gaze. "Masaki translates to Great Samurai, and Tenchi means Heaven and Earth. So that's a samurai between Heaven and Earth. It's me."

            "Oh."

            "I also like this painting," Tenchi said, pointing at another one. It wasn't like the others. It was just a white canvas with black kanji painted on it. The kanji read "shounen yo shinwa ni nare".

            " 'Boy, be a legend' " Sakuya translated. "That's an interesting phrase. Why?"

            "It reminds me to appreciate who I am, and to give all I have to whatever I'm doing."

            "Is that so?"

            Tenchi nodded. He walked over to a flat wall cabinet placed prominently in the centre of a wall. "But this is the most valuable of all paintings. To me, anyway."

            He opened the cabinet to reveal another painting. Many varied shapes and symbols of different colours were randomly placed across the canvas.

            "This picture," Tenchi said, "helps me meditate. If you relax and look at it, you fall into a deep trance, a Zen trance. Why don't you try it? I'll get some drinks."

            Tenchi got no reply. Sakuya sat staring at the picture.

            "Sakuya?" No reply. "Sakuya, hello?" Nothing. "Are you in a trance? If you are say nothing." Nothing was said. Tenchi nodded and went to tend to dinner.

--------------------

            Sakuya blinked. Tenchi had shut the cabinet. A drink was next to her.

            "Wha, what happened?"

            "You were in a trance for about five minutes. Did you enjoy it?"

            Sakuya thought. She felt relaxed and calm. "Yes," she said slowly. "I feel..."

            "Serene?"

            "Yes."

            Tenchi nodded. "That's what a good trance will do. Have you phoned your parents yet?"

            "I hope you don't mind. I called them while you were changing."

            "Of course not." Tenchi sat down. "So, about your love life."

            Sakuya blushed. "Well..."

--------------------

            Sakuya had stayed the night, sleeping in Tenchi's bed while Tenchi slept on a spare futon. They returned to school the next day, to several rumours and lewd remarks. But when Tenchi got home the next night, he was in for a shock.

            Sel.

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In the next episode of Continuum T:

            Sel's back, and he's thirsty for revenge. Tenchi faces him in his greatest fight to date. It's all or nothing in "Death and Rebirth". Will Tenchi be able to stand up to Sel? Will his secret identity remain a secret? Or will Tenchi, as the title suggests, die in the attempt? Find out in the next episode of Continuum T.


	3. Death and Rebirth

Previously on Continuum T:

            Tenchi, now acquainted with his special powers, has forged two new lives. In one he is Tenchi Neo Masaki, pupil of a respectable high school. He trains hard and has studied the prophecies he has been given. The other life is lived in headlines, where he goes by the alias Masked Man, and is responsible for stopping nearly every crime there is a law for. Quite frankly, if you're reading this, you should know what's happened. Idiot.

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            Continuum T, Part III – Death and Rebirth

----------------------------------------------------------------------

            Sel was back. And back in full force, by the looks of things. But he was different. He looked different. He seemed more human now, instead of the humanoid reptile he was before. He had human facial features, and a more human body. He still had the crest on his head, wings and a tail, but besides that and the fact that he was still green with black blotches, he looked nearly human.

            Tenchi couldn't believe it. He had killed Sel, yet now he was back? How was this possible? He was going to find out.

            The news programme showing scenes of Sel destroying buildings and people on the television also had a running commentary.

            "...And now I believe that we have a clip of the creature announcing its demands," the newsman said. The scene changed to Sel's head. He was addressing a video camera.

            "I know you're out there, Mr Anderson, and I know you're watching this." Sel's voice seemed smoother, not raspy like before. If it wasn't for the image on the screen, it could have come from a human. "I will find you, Mr Anderson, and I will destroy you. You can be assured of that. I challenge you, and if you refuse, I will destroy this planet." With that, the image shorted out.

            Tenchi knew he was going to have to fight. He just hoped that he was ready. Now that he knew what he was looking for, he could sense Sel's strength. It was a lot greater than before. It was in America, though. This would give Tenchi enough time to ready himself, before Sel found him. Everyone out there would be counting on the Masked Man. He just hoped he could do it.

--------------------

            The prophecies had foretold of this event. A powerful being would appear on Earth, and fight Neo. Neo was destined to win, but at the cost of his own life.

            Nevertheless, Tenchi believed that he could alter the future. Now that he knew of these events, they were no longer a certainty. Also, the wording of the prophecy was obscure, and open to many interpretations. Tenchi believed that he could bypass his own death.

--------------------

            It was two days later. The whole world had heard of Sel's appearance, and consequently had been calling for the Masked Man to save them. But Tenchi didn't want to. Not yet anyway. But he didn't have any choice in the matter.

            It was lunchtime. Tenchi had finished his school lunch, as school hadn't been cancelled yet due to the threat of impending doom, and was walking outside next to the playing fields. It was a cloudy day, but still pleasant.

            Tenchi froze. He could sense him. He was there, in the middle of the football pitch Tenchi was standing next to. He couldn't see him directly, but he knew he was there. That, and the fact that the others outside at the same time were screaming.

            Tenchi concentrated, and a gun belt with three guns in it appeared on him. Tenchi had previously experimented, and found that he could call up weapons. Two of the guns were loaded with special tranquilliser bullets, guaranteed to merely knock the target out for about an hour and leave no physical damage, and the third had ammo which instantly killed upon contact, no matter how fleeting that contact. Tenchi grabbed the two tranquilliser guns, pivoted and started firing.

            Sel didn't move from the spot, but dodged every bullet. He left after-images of positions he was in, all with the same leg positions.

            He was out of ammo. He threw the guns to the side and grabbed the deadly gun. He was just about to aim when Sel vanished. Tenchi lowered his gun and looked around, trying to find him. He couldn't sense him anywhere, but he was sure he was still there.

            Sel reappeared in an instant, right in front of Tenchi. Before he could do anything, Sel hit Tenchi squarely in the chest, sending him flying twenty metres into the first floor wall of his school, causing a large crater in the wall. Tenchi fell, clenching his fists. His disguise appeared on him, more fading in than actually coming from anywhere. Tenchi stopped, hovering half a metre above the ground, then lowered himself down, amidst horrified gasping and whispering.

            "Mr Anderson," Sel said walking up to him. He stopped several metres away from him. "We meet again at last."

            "What do you want, Sel?" Tenchi asked threateningly. "How did you survive our last fight? You were vaporised."

            "Come now, Mr Anderson. You don't think I'd be beaten that easily, do you? You didn't completely destroy me. You only put a hole through my chest. I can regenerate myself, as long as at least a part of me still exists."

            Tenchi shifted his stance. "So what do you want this time, Sel?"

            "The same thing I wanted before. Perfection. As you can see, I'm nearer to completing that goal. This body is nearly perfect, as opposed to my other form. Once I destroy you, I'll gain enough experience to become perfect." Sel grinned. "Take off that mask, Mr Anderson. It doesn't suit you."

            Tenchi hesitated, but then took it off. He'd need all the help he could get, including the use of his other eye. There was a collective gasp from those around paralysed with fear as he threw the mask to the ground.

            "You seem to like this kind of weapon," Sel said. Tenchi gasped. It was the deadly gun. Tenchi had dropped it when Sel hit him. "Maybe I should put you to the test."

            "Trinity," Tenchi called out as Sel raised the gun at him. "Help!"

            Sel fired, and time slowed down. The bullets came out of the gun and shot forward slowly at Tenchi. Tenchi moved and dodged them, his long coat billowing out behind him. Tenchi just managed to dodge the ten bullets in the four seconds it took to fire them, but was lucky. He had ended up sprawled on the ground. If there had been another bullet, Sel could have killed him in the vulnerable position he was in. He stood up and removed the long billowing coat from his body, casting it to the ground.

            "I see you're quick," Sel said. "But speed comes at a price. Your physical strength must be very low."

            "My physical strength is just fine," Tenchi said. He curled over slightly and started yelling. A flaming white aura appeared around him, and his hair lengthened and turned black. He stopped yelling and straightened up. "I can now become a Saiyan pretty much at will."

            "How impressive," Sel said sarcastically. "You can change your hairstyle whenever you want. But you're still not as strong as me, Mr Anderson."

            "My name is Neo." With that Tenchi charged forward. He swung at Sel with a flurry of fists. Sel blocked or deflected each in turn. Tenchi hopped backwards, giving him some space. Sel disappeared, like before. Tenchi looked around and vanished himself, just before Sel reappeared, swinging his fist through the air Tenchi had just occupied. He vanished again.

            Shockwaves filed the air, each caused by the force of the contact between a fist and a palm or forearm. They were moving so fast no-one else could see them, only their effects.

            Tenchi reappeared high in the sky. A split second later Sel also appeared, just behind him. He swung a leg at Tenchi, but Tenchi disappeared just before it landed. Tenchi reappeared behind Sel, and hit him downwards. Sel flew down and hit the ground, causing an impact crater to form. Tenchi vanished, and a streak of lightning shot from his location to the ground where Sel was. Sel vanished, just before Tenchi hit him. He reappeared ten metres away.

            "I must say, Mr Anderson," he said, "that I couldn't have hoped for a better test of my skills. However, this is only a fraction of my strength."

            Tenchi growled and flew forwards at Sel. Sel readied for defending from Tenchi's punch, but Tenchi just flew through him. That was just his image, though, and Tenchi darted at Sel and hit him in the chest. Sel recoiled and regained his posture. He swung at Tenchi, but his fist passed straight through the afterimage.

            Tenchi had reappeared a few metres in front of Sel. He raised his hands straight up. "Masenko," he shouted, forming a blue ball of energy in his hands, "Blast!" he shouted, throwing the ball at Sel. Sel jumped out of the way. The ball hit the adjacent football pitch, where it exploded, forming a hemispherical hole a couple of metres across.

            "I see you can form energy blasts now, Mr Anderson," Sel said. "Very impressive. I assume this means our fight has proceeded to the next level?"

            With that Sel thrust one hand forwards and formed a purple ball of energy in it. He released it at Tenchi, who knocked it into the air with his arm. It caused a large explosion.

            "My turn," Tenchi said. He thrust his right arm up and his left arm down. He quickly rotated them down and up respectively until they were in opposite positions. He brought them together in front of him, and moved the two open hands to his right side. "Kah Meh Hah Meh Haah!" he shouted. He shot the energy blast he had formed in his hands at Sel. It projected at him and through his chest in a beam, before impacting the next but two playing pitch, causing a huge explosion that enveloped four whole pitches. A very large crater remained.

            Sel gasped. He looked down at the hole in his chest. He flexed his muscles and the hole shrank until nothing. He looked back up at Tenchi, who was crouched down panting. That last attack had weakened him somewhat.

            "That was a demonstration of my regeneration technique," he said. "And I must say I'm very surprised that you formed a kameya-meya. That's the strongest of all energy attacks. Someone like you shouldn't be able to handle such energy."

            "Someone like me just did," Tenchi replied.

            "Tenchi!"

            Tenchi looked round at the call of his name. Someone else had some out, and had called his name. It was Sakuya. She had come out to meet Tenchi, but instead was met by the sight of Tenchi fighting Sel.

            "I see she knows you, Mr Anderson," Sel said. He vanished and reappeared behind her. He grabbed her securely and twisted her arm. Sakuya cried out in pain. "There's more than one way to hurt you, you know."

            "Get away from her right now," Tenchi ordered.

            "Just as soon as I do this." There was a dull cracking sound as Sel snapped her arm. Sakuya screamed in pain and fell to the ground, unconscious. Sel moved away from her as Tenchi darted forwards. Tenchi knelt down and examined the arm. He repositioned the two broken parts of the arm. Sel regarded all this with mild amusement.

            Tenchi placed his hand on her chest and closed his eyes. It seemed like nothing happened, but Tenchi had given Sakuya some of his energy to heal herself with. After about ten seconds her arm was fixed. Tenchi removed his hand and placed his first two fingers against her temple. To Tenchi everything faded into whiteness.

--------------------

            There was only white. And Tenchi. As he watched, Sakuya faded in. She looked around nervously.

            "Where am I?" she asked fearfully.

            "Relax," Tenchi said, walking up to her. "You are in the matrix of my mind. Time doesn't pass here, so once we leave, it will be the same time as we entered."

            "Okay," Sakuya said uneasily. "What happened?"

            "Sel broke your arm. Sel is that green being I was fighting. You lost consciousness. I healed your arm and brought you into my mind using one of my abilities."

            "You're the Masked Man?"

            Tenchi nodded in confirmation. "Yes. I needed a secret identity, so I wouldn't be recognised. Otherwise I would be an outsider, and never live a relatively normal life."

            Tenchi sighed. "I guess that's over, then."

            "What happened to your hair?"

            "It's part of a transformation into what is known as a Saiyan. It is the ascended form of a human. Not the evolved form, mind you. Just a stronger form."

            "Who was that man?"

            "Sel? Sel is a being who wants to become perfect. As far as I know, he becomes stronger by gaining experience at fighting. Apparently, when he has enough experience he grows to his next form."

            "Oh." Sakuya needed time to process all this information.

            "I healed you by giving you some of my energy, some of my soul. If I lose enough energy, I shall die."

            "What?" Sakuya exclaimed. "Why did you give some to me then? Surely you need it?"

            "I have a lot. Besides, I didn't give you that much."

            "But why? It was only a broken arm. It would have healed."

            "Because I consider you a friend. And friends are always there for each other."

            Sakuya was silent.

            "That energy attack I just did was the kameya-meya. It is reputedly the strongest energy attack able to be formed. It took quite a bit of my soul to form and release it, much more energy than I gave you. There are a few restrictions to using the technique, though. One is that the user can't move. There's just so much energy being focussed that if control over it is lost by moving even slightly, it will dissipate in a huge explosion. Even the smallest attack would form a crater about the size of China.

            "The second restriction is that both hands are needed to contain and focus the energy. One hand on its own isn't strong enough to hold it. There have been rumours, though, that someone has been able to form a self-contained miniature kameya-meya. If this is true, then it could be possible to use only one hand."

            Sakuya said nothing. She was trying to process all this information.

            "We must get back. I need to destroy Sel."

            Sakuya just nodded dumbly.

            They both vanished into white.

--------------------

            The white faded, revealing the real world.

            Tenchi stood up and turned to Sel. Sakuya scrambled up and moved to the side.

            "It's over, Sel," he said. "Give up now." Tenchi charged. His and Sel's arms partially faded in a flurry of punches. Each and every one was blocked or deflected. But when one of Sel's punches was deflected, he grabbed Tenchi's arm. Tenchi retaliated, but Sel grabbed the other arm, and planted a foot square in his chest. Tenchi went flying back into a wall, part of the chemistry laboratories building. Tenchi rebounded and landed on his chest with a thud. He stirred and picked himself up slowly. He raised his head towards Sel, and his eyes widened in fear. He quickly crossed his arms over his chest to partially block the damage from the energy blast Sel had just fired at him. His body swayed back, but hardly any damage was done.

            Sel fired another. Tenchi quickly regained his defensive posture. This time the blast was stronger, forcing Tenchi to step back, otherwise fall down. Another blast was released, forcing Tenchi to step back again. The next one tossed Tenchi against the wall behind him, making him recoil and fall on the ground again.

            Sel smiled, but stopped short as Tenchi moved and started to get up again, obviously seriously hurt.

            "You don't know when to quit, do you, Mr Anderson?" he shouted at him. He brought a fist to his side and clenched it tightly. It started to glow orange. "You're wrong. It's over when I say it's over. And it's over now!"

            Tenchi staggered to his feet and looked up, only to be blasted straight through the chest. He died instantly, his body thrown backwards, hitting the wall again and crumpling on the ground. His hair immediately dropped as the body became normal again.

            Sel squirmed. Parts of his body changed shape, becoming more or less pronounced. His tail receded into his back. His splayed toes merged into proper feet. His segmented body became smoother, like armour. His crest became sleeker, and his face more human.

            He had ascended to his perfect form.

            He walked up to Tenchi's lifeless body. Without warning he fired a few energy blasts into the wall above him, causing it to collapse on Tenchi, burying him in rubble.

            "How ironic," said Sel, his voice slick and smooth, "that you have died the same way I did six years ago. Only this time, you don't have the regeneration technique to save you, as I did. You put up a brave fight, I grant you that. But in the end the superior being had to emerge victorious.

            "Goodbye, Mr Anderson."

--------------------

            The orange beam seared Tenchi's chest, burning its way through him. Suddenly, the pain stopped. Tenchi watched as his body flew against the wall and hit it. He also saw Sel smiling.

            Am I dead? he wondered.

            Tenchi could see all around him, not just in an arc but also everywhere around him, and with absolute clarity. He then noticed that he didn't seem to have a body any more, but was more of a point. Not even that, as he now had no physical presence at all.

            He was dead.

            But I can't be, Tenchi thought. I'm supposed to kill Sel. I can't do that if I'm dead. I should be the Chosen One, the one in the prophecies. They all say I do more things after this. I can't be dead, because I have to do those things. I am Neo, the one in the legends. I can't die here, now.

            The next thing he knew was pain.

--------------------

            "Goodbye, Mr Anderson."

            "My name," came a weak voice from the rubble. It started to shake and fall as Tenchi picked himself up, wincing with the pain, "is Neo."

            "No. You're dead."

            "Look again." Tenchi flew forward at Sel, or at least he would have, had he not been so weak. He fell forwards into Sel's arms, nearly dead.

            "You have a lot of energy in you, Mr Anderson," Sel said.

            "N... Ne..." Tenchi struggled before completely sagging.

            "And you are brave. Therefore I shall let you live. I have achieved what I desired. I have no further use for you." He dropped Tenchi on the ground, where he curled up, fading in and out of consciousness. He was far too weak to move at all.

            Sel walked over to Sakuya, who was paralysed with fear, and grabbed her. "However I need a different trophy, to remind me of today. Instead of your head, I will take something just as valuable to you."

            Sakuya whimpered.

            "Hers." Sel dragged the kicking and screaming Sakuya to an open spot.

            Tenchi heard all this, and tried to move, but he couldn't. Not at all.

            "Tenchi, help!" Saukya screamed, as Sel wrapped his hands around her neck, ready to tear her head off.

            "Lv hr aln," Tenchi mumbled. He lifted his head. "Leave her alone." His voice raised in volume. He struggled and lifted himself up to his feet. "Leave her alone. Leave her alone!"

            Tenchi's hair lifted, as he became a Saiyan again. He started yelling, and the aura around him became more energetic. It grew in intensity, tapering off high above his head. Sel dropped Sakuya and stared. Sakuya scrambled away, also staring.

            The aura disappeared, as if sucked up into nothing. Tenchi's hair was now flailing around wildly. New flames appeared, golden this time, circling round Tenchi's feet. Tenchi yelled even louder, and the flames suddenly reached up, surrounding him, and tapered off into another aura, golden. His hair had also changed colour, now golden as well. His black eyes brightened to cyan-green. Tenchi stopped yelling and faced Sel.

            "What is that?" Sel exclaimed.

            "This is the last day of the rest of your life," Tenchi said, his voice unusually calm.

            Sel snarled. "I seriously doubt that. You're still going to die."

            Sel rushed forwards, ready to start a new volley of punches, but Tenchi flew high into the sky. Sel flew after him, but stopped between him and the ground as he saw what Tenchi was doing.

            Tenchi was forming another kameya-meya, aimed directly down at Sel. "Kah!" he shouted.

            "Don't be stupid, Mr Anderson," Sel shouted. "You can't fire that at me. You'll only hit the ground."

            "Meh!"

            "You can't control a blast that strong. Stop now before it destroys you."

            "Hah!"

            Sel was getting nervous now. "Don't do it, Neo! That attack is strong enough to destroy this entire planet, including you. You don't think you can actually release that, do you?"

            "Meh!"

            "Neo! You'll destroy us all! Stop it!"

            Tenchi vanished. Sel gasped. "How...?"

            Tenchi reappeared. He was below Sel. Sel noticed, and his eyes widened with pure fear.

            "Haah!"

            Tenchi released the kameya-meya directly at Sel. It was a huge beam, several metres wide. It deflected the blasts Sel shot at it towards the ground, and completely engulfed Sel.

            "NO!" Sel yelled. "I'M PERFECT!"

            Sel's body dissolved into nothing. He had been completely vaporised.

            Tenchi fell to the ground, and landed with a thud. He had regressed to normal. He picked himself up and looked over at Sakuya.

            Sakuya had been too close to one of Sel's blasts. She lay on the ground almost dead.

            "No," Tenchi gasped. He started to walk over to her when a figure appeared in front of him. It was a woman. She had light brown hair and blue eyes, the blue being where white should normally be. A golden disc on her forehead produced four orange material stripes that receded around her head. A green stripe was across each cheek. She wore a brown and green outfit, fairly elaborately decorated with gems and trimming. She had her arms spread, blocking Tenchi's path to Sakuya.

            "I cannot let you pass, Tenchi," she said, her voice smooth yet demanding. "You are far too weak. You must rest now, or you could die."

            "Who are you?" Tenchi asked.

            "I am a friend," the woman said. "I know what you're going to do, and I cannot let you. You will die."

            "So? Let me past. I must get to Sakuya," Tenchi said firmly.

            "I'm afraid I cannot."

            Tenchi raised a hand and formed a small energy blast, aiming it at the woman. She looked afraid for a second, and then lowered her arms.

            "I should have known better than to argue with you, Tenchi," she said. She stepped aside.

            Tenchi continued towards Sakuya. He dropped to his knees next to her, partially from exhaustion. He placed a hand on Sakuya's chest and began to transfer his energy.

            It wasn't enough. Tenchi staggered to his feet and powered up to his Saiyan form. He started yelling and became a Super Saiyan, then dropped down again and continued transferring energy. The woman who had blocked him before looked on anxiously, as did all the other people standing there.

            While Tenchi was giving Sakuya his soul, he powered down to Saiyan, then to normal. Then Sakuya coughed. It was working. Tenchi continued to give her energy, until he stopped, seemingly unable to give any more. He weakly placed two of his fingers against the side of her forehead. Everything went white.

--------------------

            Tenchi and Sakuya were back in the white place. Instead of his normal clothes, Tenchi wore a white suit, while Sakuya still wore her original clothes.

            "Tenchi, what happened? Am I dead?" Sakuya asked.

            "Far from it," Tenchi replied. "I gave you as much of my soul as I could to heal you. You were going to die, but I saved you. It took a lot of my energy, though. I barely had enough to link our minds again."

            "You mean you have no energy left?"

            Tenchi nodded. "As soon as I leave here, I will die."

            Sakuya gasped and shuddered. "You're going to die?"

            Tenchi nodded again.

            "Why don't you stay here? You said that time didn't exist here. So you will never die, if you stay here."

            "No. It wouldn't be fair to you. Time might not exist here, but it does outside. Eventually I'm going to have to leave, and we're going to come back out at the exact same time we came in. I can't ask you to give up your life for me. I can't."

"Why did you do it?"

            "Sakuya, when we leave here, I want you to do something for me. Live. I have given you my soul, given you a second chance at life. Please, live, for me."

            "Even at the expense of your own life? How can I live knowing that you died for me?"

            "You didn't choose to do this. I did. It was my decision. Don't blame yourself for something I did. Live, so at least one of us is living. And remember, I will always be with you."

            "But why did you do it?"

            "Because I realised something," Tenchi said.

            "What?"

            "I'm your friend," Tenchi said, "and friends are always there for each other."

            "Tenchi, don't go," Sakuya sobbed, clutching Tenchi. "I can't lose you. Not now. Not before..."

            "Before what?"

            Sakuya was silent, evading the question. Tenchi moved away from her, and held her at arms length.

            "Sakuya, I have to do this. I have to go. Please don't be sad. I wanted to do this."

            "You mean kill yourself?"

            "I mean help you. All my life I have helped others. And even in death I can still help you. It's who I am. Remember, I will always be with you."

            Tenchi stepped back and faded.

--------------------

            Tenchi collapsed on the ground next to Sakuya. Sakuya got up and started shaking Tenchi, pleading him to wake up. But it was in vain. Tenchi was dead.

            The woman walked towards Sakuya.

            "He's dead," Sakuya sniffed. She then started crying into the woman, gaining comfort from her even though she was a complete stranger. "He gave his life for me."

            "No," the woman replied. "He gave much more than that."

            Sakuya looked up at her, confused.

            "When normal people die, they still have a bit of energy. It's not enough to hold the connection between the mind and body, but it sustains the mind afterwards. Their minds continue to exist after death, experiencing the world without any limitations the body offers. Things like hunger, exhaustion, and a set arc of vision. These things do not affect the minds. However, Tenchi gave you all his soul, all his energy. He had none left to sustain his mind. I can't tell you what has happened to it, because, quite frankly, I don't know. But I can tell you that he gave not only his life, but his death as well."

--------------------

            A being was watching the events happening from nearby. It stood up from where it was sat on top of the school building and faded away.

--------------------

            Tenchi was expecting to experience something similar to the previous time he had died several minutes ago. He was wrong.

            He was in a light place. White, actually. All around him was white. He seemed to be the only one there.

            "Welcome," said a voice from behind him, "to Heaven."

            Tenchi whirled round and saw three people. They all looked like ordinary people, all wearing white. Tenchi looked down and saw that he was wearing white too.

            "Who are you people?" Tenchi asked, backing away from them. "Where is this place?"

            "This is Heaven," said another man.

            "The resting place of heroes," said the third.

            "Heroes?" Tenchi asked.

            "Yes," the first spoke.

            "You are a hero," said the second.

            "And so you are here with us," the third said.

            "What do you mean by heroes?" Tenchi asked.

            "We mean people who have given their soul to let another live."

            "Someone truly noble and brave."

            "And strong."

            Tenchi looked at the trio in front of him, all speaking as if they were finishing each others thoughts and speeches. "Why are you like that?"

            "Speaking as one?"

            "It is the reward."

            "It comes to heroes."

            "What reward?" Tenchi asked, now completely confused.

            "Symbiosis."

            "Living together as one."

            "Interdependent."

            "We are together."

            "We are equal."

            "And strong."

            So that's why they're always speaking together, Tenchi thought.

            "Yes, you are right."

            "Coexistence."

            "We know your thoughts."

            This took Tenchi aback. "You can read my mind? How?"

            "When we were alive, we could control our energies. We were some of the strongest beings in the galaxy."

            "We sacrificed our lives for others, much like you yourself did."

            "The reward bound us together, giving us many abilities, such as omniscience, telepathy and ability to see all through time."

            "You are still linear, Tenchi Masaki."

            "But in time you will be one with us."

            "You will be a part of us."

            "No thanks," Tenchi said stoutly. "I don't want to be a part of anyone. I like my independence."

            "But it is inevitable."

            "Resistance is futile."

            "You will become one with us."

            They started to advance on Tenchi.

--------------------

            Afternoon break came. Tenchi remained outside, on the playing field. No-one dared go near him, let alone move him. And so he stayed there.

            Three women appeared, fading in. One was the woman from before, the one who had challenged Tenchi before backing down. The second was a woman with long light blue hair in two plaits. Two small green circular gems were placed next to each other on her forehead. She wore a blue and white robe, which was fairly extravagant.

            The third had spiky red hair, hardly restrained by the gold band round her head. Three green gems were arranged in a triangle pointing down on her forehead. Her breastplate was arranged in such a way that it surrounded and revealed most of her breasts. Two green cats eyes appeared around the bodice, creating a very feline impression. The rest of her clothing was dark purple, baggy around her shoulders and legs, but tight around her wrists and waist.

            The first woman disappeared then reappeared next to Tenchi. The second floated over to him, and the third merely walked over. The three surrounded the lifeless body. They looked at him, then at each other and nodded. They each put a hand over Tenchi, touching each other's in the middle, closed their eyes and concentrated. Tenchi's body lifted up slowly off the ground, as if an invisible hand had grabbed it by the chest. It stayed there, levitating, for about ten seconds, then was gently replaced on the ground. The three women broke from their stance and looked at Tenchi.

            "Nothing's happening," said the red haired woman.

            "Give him time," the blue haired woman said. "He will come."

            "And I suppose I'll be the one to deal with him again," said the woman with the light brown hair.

            "You have had more experience with him than we have," the red haired woman said.

            "It's only logical that you do so," said the cerulean haired woman. "We shall help him in other ways."

            "He is special," said the red haired woman. "I can see that. It is a good thing that you told us of him, and for returning my powers, although temporarily."

            "We couldn't have done this otherwise," replied the brown haired woman.

            They looked at Tenchi for a bit longer.

            "Do you think he is the fabled?" the red haired woman said.

            "You should know," replied the blue haired woman. "You are the most intelligent of us three. But I believe he is."

            "So do I," said the brown haired woman. "He is the fabled. I know it."

            "I think we must go now," the red haired woman said.

            The three women vanished.

            And nothing happened.

--------------------

            Tenchi stirred. He opened his eyes and was shocked.

            It was early evening. The sun was about to set, casting a slight hint of red over the landscape. It would have been a nice sight for Tenchi to see, but instead he stared at it, completely traumatised.

            He was alive. Again. It was all gone.

            Tenchi shook his head, trying to dislodge all the thoughts entering his mind. He needed a place to think.

            Tenchi powered up an aura around him, noted that he could still do so, and flew east.

--------------------

            Tenchi cast an eye over the mountains, not really paying attention. He was trying to clear his mind, so didn't have time for anything else. But his thoughts wouldn't clear. More came, and cluttered his mind, fragmented and meaningless, until he shook his head yet again and started from the beginning.

            There was a presence behind him. Tenchi didn't turn around. He knew who it was.

            "Do you mind if I sit with you?" the brown haired woman asked.

            "Sure. Go ahead. Pull up a mountain."

            Tenchi lapsed into silence. The woman scanned the scenery for a while, and then spoke.

            "It is a nice view, don't you think?"

            "I wouldn't know. I can't say."

            "Do you know who I am?" she asked.

            Tenchi nodded. "You're the strange woman who keeps helping me."

            "But do you know who I really am?"

            "Tokemi."

            He knew. The woman was Tokemi, the goddess representative of the physical protrusion of any living creature.

            "You are not surprised to see me?"

            "No. I just fought Sel, and some things happened to me that I don't understand. I was expecting you."

            "Oh."

            They sat in silence for a while more.

            "I'm sitting here, on top of the tallest mountain on this planet," Tenchi said. "Only a handful of people have been here. This should mean something to me, but it doesn't."

            "The ascension you experienced was the Super Saiyan form of a human. It is the form beyond a Saiyan. It is a mythological feat. No-one has ever attained it, until now."

            "I died."

            Tokemi was struck silent.

            "What happened to me? Sel blasted me, and I was dead. How did I survive?"

            "Sometimes," Tokemi said, "will is stronger even than death."

            "I willed myself back to life," Tenchi said. "That makes sense. But what happened then? I died, and went to this place. It was white, and three other people were there. They said they were all heroes, before they tried to absorb me. They said it was all part of a gift."

            "Yes. You were in Heaven. It is the reward for the highest act of self-sacrifice. Only the strongest go there."

            "There were only three. But we were one. I could see everything, but..."

            "But what?"

            "It's all fading away. I can't remember. Everything's getting darker. I feel so empty. So cold."

            Tokemi stayed silent.

            "I can't remember," Tenchi repeated. "There were... some people. They wanted something, I think. Something about... Something."

            "Let it go. It is obviously affecting you badly. Forget it. It will make it much easier to come to terms with what has happened. And the truth."

            "What truth?"

            "The story about your past is true. But not complete."

            Tokemi sighed. "I told you that the man who removed you from your real mother when you were an embryo wanted to see if you had a strong soul. He discovered that you did. However, he did more than just relocate the embryo. He cloned it."

            "Cloned it?"

            "This clone also had a strong soul. It was identical to the original in every way. But the man enhanced it. He made subtle changes that improved the clone mentally and physically. He gave it subconscious knowledge, making it unusually intelligent.

            "There were two surrogate mothers. One for the original, on a planet which would not let the person develop his Saiyan powers, and one for the clone, on another planet that would."

            "I'm the clone?" Tenchi asked. Tokemi looked indifferent.

            Tenchi thought more deeply. "I have Saiyan powers. They seem to be fairly easy to control." Tenchi paused. "My mother, my surrogate mother, told me that I could speak from birth. She also said that I was very intelligent, that I seemed to know more than anyone else my age, or twice my age, actually."

            Realisation dawned. "I am the clone. I shouldn't exist. I was never meant to be."

            "The man created the clone for one purpose," Tokemi said. "That purpose was domination. He wanted more than anything to control the galaxy. He created the clone to help him do this. Once it would be mature, he would come for it, and he would conquer the galaxy with its help."

            "I'm an instrument for mass destruction? I was created to overpower civilisations?"

            "I must go now. I know I have created more questions than answers, but try to follow my advice. Remember, no-one can tell you who you are. You make your own path, your own life. It is no-one else's to control, just your own."

            She stood up and vanished.

            "I make my own life," Tenchi mused.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

In the next episode of Continuum T:

            We regress to the plot line of a popular animé starring Tenchi's namesake. But there's a twist. There has to be, otherwise it wouldn't make sense, and, quite frankly, it would be tedious to retell the story. Several strange alien girls start appearing, and more of Tenchi's heritage is revealed, in "Appearance". Will Tenchi accept these girls as friends? Will there ever be a more stupid question than that? And will we ever know the deal with those other two women? You know, the ones who were there with Tokemi when Tenchi was dead? Find out in the next episode of Continuum T.


	4. Appearance

Previously on Continuum T:

            After another fight with Sel, now finishing him off for good, Tenchi has discovered that he can ascend to the form beyond a Saiyan, that is, a Super Saiyan. He has also discovered that the strange woman who has been helping him all these years is none other than the goddess Tokemi. She also told him that Tenchi was a clone, created from an original template. Now Tenchi has several decisions to make. Some other things have also happened, such as when Tenchi died, twice, but they aren't important.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

            Continuum T, Part IV – Appearance

----------------------------------------------------------------------

            The secret was out. Everyone now knew that Tenchi was the Masked Man. They all knew he had special and unbelievable powers. What they didn't know was how they affected him.

            Not at the moment, anyway.

--------------------

            Tenchi had come to terms with his existence as a clone, but he realised that no-one could tell him who he was. He could control his own destiny.

            It was about two months later, being as it was now just at the start of the summer holidays. Tenchi had literally pleaded with everyone to treat him normally, but of course they couldn't. Not when they knew something this big. They tried, though, at the insistence of Tenchi, and were partially getting used to the idea of him having super powers. They hardly mentioned the powers, though, but they did treat him with a lot more respect and gratitude. After all, he did save the world from destruction.

            Tenchi meanwhile had given up his disguise, thinking it wouldn't make any difference now, as everyone knew who he was. But that wasn't the only change he had gone through. Everyone who knew him noticed that he had more of a bad temper now. They didn't dare to mention it, but it was there. And, like all pressure, it would release in a huge explosion.

--------------------

            "Don't bother," Tenchi said. "You know you wouldn't get near me with that thing."

            The thing in question was a baseball bat, wielded by a person most aptly described as a goon or henchman. He, and the other two goons, also wielding bats, were henchmen to a wanted drug lord. And Tenchi was about to turn them in.

            The first goon lunged forwards, his muscular form begging desperately to escape from the tuxedo he was wearing, barely able to stay together as it was without any muscles rippling. He swung the bat at Tenchi, who caught it easily and wrenched it out of his hand. He then hit the goon, causing him to stagger back. The other two then attacked, similarly formed, swinging their bats at Tenchi. Tenchi blocked the incoming attacks with his forearms, grabbed one and twisted the goon's arm. He delivered a foot into the chest of the other, sending him flying into a pile of cardboard boxes, creating a cloud of white powder. Tenchi threw the goon he was holding to one side and faced the drug baron, whereupon the first goon hit him in the back. Tenchi stepped forwards and cried out, in surprise rather than pain, swivelled and delivered a hard punch to his gut. The goon folded over and collapsed unconscious on the floor.

            Tenchi faced the baron again, noting that he had now pulled out a gun.

            "I think you're the one who's in trouble now," the baron jeered. And fired.

            Tenchi quickly moved to avoid the bullet, and again to avoid the second. There was a groan from behind him as the second goon picked himself up. Tenchi turned to see, and was shot in the arm. He yelled in pain and clutched his arm. Then he lost his temper. He formed an energy blast in his hand and fired at the baron. The drug lord flew backwards and smashed into a wall. He dropped to the floor, dead. The two conscious goons grabbed the third and ran.

            Tenchi breathed heavily for a few seconds, then gasped. He had killed him.

            True, he had shot people before, but only with his special guns with the paralysis bullets in them. He had never actually killed anyone before.

            Tenchi suddenly noticed a feeling inside him, cold and empty. He quickly powered down from his Saiyan form, and the feeling disappeared. The feeling was evil.

            "I can't lose control like that again," Tenchi said aloud. "Who knows what I might do if I lose it again. It's being a Saiyan that causes it. From now on, then, I will give up my Saiyan powers for ever."

--------------------

            And so he did. He stopped being a super hero and suppressed his Saiyan abilities. He even suppressed his other powers as precaution, rendering him fairly normal, with just quicker reflexes than most other people. He couldn't trust himself any more. Instead, he fell back on training with his grandfather. The training usually entailed cleaning the Masaki Shrine near to his father's house in town. Tenchi didn't mind, as he rather enjoyed doing so. But something else resided nearby, something completely different.

--------------------

            "Tenchi."

            Nothing.

            "Tenchi." Louder.

            Still nothing.

            Katsuhito sighed. He walked up the rest of the steps to the shrine and found a broom and a bucket of water on the floor. Tenchi was nowhere in sight.

            "Now where did he go?" he asked.

--------------------

            Tenchi, as it happened, was in Katsuhito's office, rummaging through the drawers of his desk. He was looking for something fairly small, as his searching was quite thorough. Chibi, his cat, lay sleeping in front of the closed door.

            "Now where did he put those things?" Tenchi murmured.

            The door slid open. Tenchi stiffened and turned to face his visitor. But there was no-one there.

            "It was curiosity that killed the cat, Tenchi," Katsuhito said behind him. Tenchi yelped and scrambled away from him. "I bet you were looking for these?" his grandfather said, pulling out a set of old metal keys from his robe.

            "So that's where they are," Tenchi said before he could stop himself. He clamped a hand over his mouth, realising what he had just said.

            "You weren't trying to sneak in there against my orders, were you?" the elder man said, pocketing the keys again.

            "No I wasn't," Tenchi said frustrated.

            "It is the ancient law of this Masaki shrine. And you are no exception to that legacy."

            Tenchi just looked sideways at him.

            "But really, you want to see what's in there, don't you?" Katsuhito asked.

            "Uh huh," Tenchi said, nodding enthusiastically.

            "Here they are, Tenchi," Katsuhito said, taking the keys out again. "If you can take them from me. Let's see how good you really are."

            Tenchi hesitated. His grandfather was quite adept for his age, after all. But Tenchi still thought he could take him. He rushed forwards, swinging his fist at him. Katsuhito merely reached out an arm and caught the punch. The old man twisted his arm and tripped him, sending Tenchi flying into a wall.

            "Work harder. And remember, your chores are part of your training," Katsuhito said as he stood up and walked out. Tenchi turned from his vantage point halfway through the wall and watched him walk out. Then he realised something. The keys were in his mouth.

--------------------

            Tenchi was laughing as he ran towards the cave.

            "Curiosity killed the cat. Lucky for me I'm not a cat," Tenchi laughed.

            He approached the cave, a large hole sinking into the rock as far as could be seen. Large metal gates blocked off the cave's entrance. Gates to which the keys belonged. Tenchi opened them and proceeded.

            His grandfather had told him about the history of the cave when he was small. He had said that a demon had come from the sky many centuries ago, terrorising villages and people. Its path of destruction could not be halted until one day, when a great samurai appeared on the back of a dragon. The samurai's name was Yosho, Tenchi's ancestor. Yosho defeated the demon with a sword of great spiritual power, and locked it away in the cave, sealed by the power of the sword, embedded in the ground. To this day the demon slept, still sealed by the power of the sword.

            All this Tenchi discarded as he advanced slowly into the cave.

            He came to a slightly bigger area, lit by a hole in the ceiling that let the sunlight through. He looked around at some strange markings in the stone, and at protection spells written on pieces of paper strewn around the place. His gaze rested on a small ornamental wooden house, obviously a shrine of some sort. Tenchi approached and opened the doors. Inside was the hilt of a sword. He grabbed it and pulled it out, struggling as he did so. He removed the scabbard with a lot of difficulty, revealing the blade. The rusted and distorted blade.

            "Huh? It's just a rusted old piece of junk." He swung it round a few times. "Give me a break. 'The sword that cuts through a rock'?" He swung it down at a conveniently placed rock, shattering the blade on impact. "Uh oh." The rock fell apart, despite having never been cut through.

            To the side of Tenchi, a part of the rock wall slid open, revealing a passageway. A large rock had also descended from the ceiling, blocking off the way out.

            "Oh great. What do I do now, genius?" Tenchi mused as he looked around. He noticed the new passageway. "Huh?"

            Tenchi stepped through, bumping his head. He clutched his head and winced, stepping into a puddle of water. "Ah, that's cold!" Tenchi looked down. It wasn't just a puddle. It looked more like the floor was water with stepping-stones. The floor also sloped downwards fairly steeply right in front of Tenchi. Tenchi stepped forwards without realising this, lost his footing and slipped, painfully, down to the bottom.

            Tenchi glanced around from his awkward position at the bottom of the slope. He seemed to be in a large cavern, the floor of which was more water and stepping-stones. There was a pit in the middle of the floor, full of water. Tenchi picked himself up, then the sword hilt. He cautiously approached the pit, not noticing as he did so that the three red gems in the end of the sword hilt were glowing slightly. He peered into the pool and saw a figure. A dead figure. It lay on a stone slab, its long cyan hair splayed out across the headrest. The mummy wore a mask, a red demon feline mask, with a hint of the Sphinx about it. Tenchi stared in awe at it, not noticing his grip on the sword hilt loosening.

            There was a loud crash as the wooden hilt fell onto the floor. Tenchi jerked back in fright, before noticing that it was only the sword. Sighing with relief, he crouched to pick it up.

            "I'd better be going anyway," he said, grabbing the sword. A hand grabbed him. The long skeletal arm had grasped Tenchi's wrist, and didn't show signs of being about to let go. Tenchi's view widened to encompass the rest of the demon mummy lifting itself out of the water. He struggled to get away, but it was hopeless. The skeletal hand was a lot stronger than he thought.

            The masked head leaned forwards towards Tenchi's face. The other bony hand rubbed against his cheek and brought it closer. The creature was making noises, almost friendly, affectionate noises, as it leaned forward, seemingly to examine Tenchi more closely.

            Or to kiss him. Tenchi's pupils dilated rapidly as he realised that this was in fact what it was going to do. The sword hilt, still grasped tightly in Tenchi's sweaty hand, glowed a bright blue. The demon suddenly backed off, as if hurt by the glow. The noises it made seemed to confirm this.

            Tenchi used this opportunity to escape. He ran back towards the slope and climbed, slipping several times, but pure fear urged him on. He reached the top and stopped. He was now back in the small cave. On the wall opposite him Tenchi saw a shadow. Fear had imprinted the demon into his mind, and he recognised the shadow as belonging to it. His eyes darted to the rock, sliced neatly in two. He then noticed that it had a protection spell paper pinned to it. Or two halves of one, anyway. He grabbed a vine or root, he didn't care which, and tried to tie the rock back together. It wasn't going to stay that way, so Tenchi tightened the creeper even more. The opening shut, and the exit was unblocked. Tenchi ran out of the cave, short of breath.

            "I'm giving those keys back to grandpa," he panted. "I'll do as many chores as he says."

--------------------

            Nearby, in the woods, where Tenchi often liked to walk, was a tree. A big tree, several times bigger than the others. A circle of water surrounded it, parting its surface only for several rocks leading up to the central island.

            Dew collected on its leaves. But it wasn't dew. It was shining. Each conglomeration of shining liquid shot a beam of coloured light towards the water surrounding it. The streaks rebounded straight up, and shot into the sky, seeming to all merge into one big beam as they did so.

--------------------

            Later on, after his chores were completed, Tenchi was walking around, killing time before dinner. He had walked quite a way away from his house, and was now passing in front of a large abandoned house. It was fairly tall, and if Tenchi stood on its flat roof, he could see for miles around. Which is what he did. He gazed round at the surrounding countryside. A few miles away were the outskirts of the nearest town, but apart from that break it was all just fields and trees. And the big building he was currently on.

            A jingling sound came from somewhere behind him. He turned to see the cause. It was Chibi, his cat. The jingling came from the bell on its collar.

            "Chibi, what are you doing here?" Tenchi asked. He crouched down as the cat came running forwards. But then it faded into nothing. "Huh?"

            Another jingling came from behind him. Tenchi swirled to see a person sitting on the rooftop concrete shed. A female person. Wearing a pink and green dress, cutting into two halves at her waist and tapering off just below her knees. Old-fashioned brown leather boots adorned her feet. Her hair was spiky cyan blue, waving around everywhere in a seemingly random way. He was holding a bell, just like the one off Chibi's collar. She brought it up to her face and nuzzled it.

"Ryoko," the woman said. "That's my name."

She gracefully cast the bell towards Tenchi. He caught it, still looking at her in astonishment.

"It was cold in that cave," Ryoko said. "And dark."

            "What?" Tenchi exclaimed. "You can't be that..." Red balls of light, the size of tennis balls, appeared, spinning away from Ryoko, and then stopped. Tenchi looked at them, realising the truth. "...That freeze dried demon!" he shouted.

            Ryoko reached up a hand, and all the red light balls streamed towards it, collecting in the palm of her hand. She clenched her fist, and the light reformed into two poles of red light. One was much longer than the other. Almost like a sword, except that it was made out of light, the shorter of the two light poles being the hilt and the longer the blade.

            "Do you know how long I was in there?" Ryoko asked. "Seven hundred years. You're going to pay for that."

            "No, wait," Tenchi said. "I'm not the one who's responsible for locking you up in that cave. It was some guy called Yosho."

            "I don't care," Ryoko said. "I'm going to have some fun. I'll start by killing you."

            She threw her light sword at Tenchi, who barely jumped out of the way in time. He then started running as more explosions around him seared his body with heat. He managed to catch sight of a loose metal pole amongst a crater of rubble. He further managed to pick it up. He turned and faced Ryoko. She beckoned him to attack. Tenchi did. He charged forwards, wielding the pole with some skill, a product of the sword training with his grandfather. It didn't do any good, though. Ryoko dodged with ease. Tenchi turned around to face her again, ready to charge. But the pole fell apart in seven neatly sliced pieces. He ran again, towards the stairwell housing, explosions occurring to either side of him. He managed to get in, and was half way down the stairs when a big explosion, destroying the top half of the stairs and all around it, threw Tenchi down. He landed on the next floor in an ungainly pile.

            "Don't hurt yourself," Ryoko called after him. "I'd like to do that for you."

Tenchi picked himself up, and was about to speed away, when he decided to hide in the room next to him.

            He hid behind the door and sighed in relief. He then caught his breath quickly and held it, waiting for Ryoko to walk by unsuspecting. He sighed again, and sniffed.

            "What is that?" he mused. "That smell?" He recognised it. "Oh, it's only gas fumes." Realisation struck. "Gas fumes!" he exclaimed. He scanned the room for the cause, and found a hole in the roof. Broken pipes and supporting beams clung desperately into the sides of the hole. One of these pipes was leaking methane gas at a frantic pace.

            "Oh no," Tenchi groaned. "I can see the headlines now. 'Brilliant schoolboy blown to bits!'" He sagged his head. He jerked it back up at the sight of Ryoko moving through the wall. Without making a hole in it first. Tenchi tried to run for it, but a chair blocked his immediate escape route.

            Ryoko moved completely through the wall. She opened her palm and formed another light sword.

            Tenchi panicked. "Don't do that! You'll ignite the gas!"

            Ryoko paused. "Gas? What is gas?"

            I'd better think of something fast, Tenchi thought.

            And then he got it.

            "Hey! What's that over there?" Tenchi announced, pointing behind Ryoko. "I can't believe I just used the oldest one in the book," he added, groaning inwards.

            "Ooh! Where? I wanna see!"

            Ryoko had fallen for it. "I don't want to miss anything." She turned back round to see the chair coming to a stop, having been pushed aside by Tenchi's rather rapid escape. This made Ryoko angry. Electricity crackled through the air. Towards the gas.

            Outside, Tenchi was quietly running away, thinking that he could still make it, when a huge explosion from behind him picked him up and threw him forward several tens of metres down the long corridor. He slid to a halt.

            He picked himself up and looked at the fire now blazing where he had just previously been. He bowed his head and clapped twice, before realising. "Old shrine habit," Tenchi said, by means of explanation. He laughed nervously, and then laughed harder. Another explosion snapped him to attention.

            Tenchi gasped. There was a shadow in the flames. A Ryoko-shaped shadow. Ryoko, in fact. She coughed. "Hey!" she yelled.

            Tenchi turned instantly and sprinted away. He ducked down a smaller corridor leading off the main one, and rested there, catching his breath.

            Ryoko flew after him, almost catching up to him when she saw something. Herself. A large mirror hung on the wall just before Tenchi's opening. She looked herself up and down, and gasped. "I am a mess!" she declared.

            "Thank god," Tenchi silently praised. He sneaked away to another room and sagged into a chair, catching his breath.

            Meanwhile, Ryoko had finished dusting herself off. She stood back and admired herself. "You are one beautiful demon," she remarked. Then she remembered Tenchi. "Let's go."

            Ryoko faded and reappeared outside the building. She was looking for something.

            In Tenchi's room, Tenchi was relaxing. The chair was very comfortable. He started drifting off to sleep, but caught himself. He stood up and noticed a red wall light. This sparked off a memory. "Wait a minute," Tenchi said. "That red gem on her wrist. That's what's giving her those powers. Now I remember: 'Three gems for power'." Tenchi laughed. "All I have to do is get those gems off her, and maybe I can get her back inside that cave." Tenchi laughed again. "I can beat her. It's easy!"

            "Easy, is it?"

            Tenchi immediately refocused on Ryoko. She was outside, and had found Tenchi. She shot an energy blast at the room he was in. Tenchi just managed to jump out of the window before the explosion. He landed near Ryoko.

            "Don't be scared, Tenchi," Ryoko said, summoning another sword into her hand. "I won't hurt you. Too much." She swung the light blade straight at Tenchi. Tenchi raised his arms in a futile gesture to block it.

            The sword stopped. Tenchi opened his eyes slightly. The sword hilt that he had found in the cave earlier was floating between Ryoko's blade and Tenchi. Ryoko pulled back.

            "Impressive," she said, frustrated.

            Tenchi reached out slowly and took the hilt. Ryoko charged forward with another blade. Again, it caught on something. It had caught on the blue light blade, which had emerged from the sword hilt.

            "What?" Ryoko exclaimed. "No fair! You're cheating!"

            "What?" Tenchi said. "Give me a break!"

            The sword started to parry Ryoko's blade, dragging Tenchi behind it.

            "Hey!" Ryoko said.

            "I'm not doing this. It's the sword," Tenchi said. "If it were up to me, I wouldn't fight a monster like you."

            Ryoko grabbed Tenchi's sword arm. "Monster?" She hit Tenchi, sending him into a metal fence. "Tell me, what makes you call a pretty young lady like me a m... m... monster?" she shouted. She advanced again, stomping on a pipe as she went. She swung her arm and caused a large dent in it.

            Tenchi's sword darted forwards and swung round. Ryoko's hand fell to the ground, disintegrating as it went. The small red gem also fell. It landed on the ground and promptly exploded.

            Ryoko sighed. "Oh well. Another battle lost. That's the story of my life. Huh?" She had noticed the lack of her right hand.

"Uh, it was the sword that did that," Tenchi laughed nervously in response to Ryoko's glare. Ryoko smiled and waved her hand in front of her wrist, before joining her wrist and palm. As the wrist separated from the palm, a hand appeared. "Tadaa!" Ryoko said.

            Tenchi applauded. Ryoko took a bow before sinking into the ground.

            A large explosion from the building brought Tenchi back to his senses. Fire engine sirens could be heard coming from the town. Tenchi decided to leave.

--------------------

            Tenchi was now back at home. He walked into his room, lay down on his bed and sighed. Today had been an exhausting day.

            Something was wrong. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but something was up. Or, rather, it was down. His feet were brushing against something on the floor. He heaved himself up to see what it was.

            Nothing was there. It was probably just his imagination. Tenchi sighed again and fell backwards. He didn't get there. Instead, he fell onto something. Something that caught him. He jerked himself up and swivelled around, to see Ryoko standing in his bed. Through it, actually. He yelped and scrambled back to the far wall.

            "Don't worry, Tenchi dear," Ryoko said. "I'm not here for revenge. I just want my gems back."

            "Huh?"

            "The gems that are in your sword. They're mine. I want them back." Ryoko spotted the sword on the desk next to his bed. "Ah, there it is." She walked out of the bed and picked the sword up. She dropped it pretty quickly. Being electrocuted can do that to a person. She backed off.

            Tenchi moved and picked the sword up. "I get it," he said. "You can't touch this, right?"

            Ryoko mumbled something angrily. Then her mood lightened. "I know. I don't need to hold it. You can give me my gems back. Just point the hilt towards me and pray for them to return to me."

            "But why do I want to do that?" Tenchi asked.

            "Because there's another person coming," Ryoko said. "She's evil."

            "You mean, worse than you?" Tanchi asked nervously.

            "She's the devil. I can get rid of her, but I need my gems back. Please?"

            "How do I know you're telling the truth?"

            There was a large explosion about a mile away. The force of the blast threw Tenchi back into Ryoko's grasp.

            "Demon woman Ryoko," a female voice said, amplified from somewhere. "I know that you're there. You are under arrest for countless crimes against humankind. Give up now, and I promise I'll be lenient."

            "She'll stop at nothing to get me," Ryoko said. "She'll blow up the entire area without hesitation just to find me. Give me my gems, and it'll be the last you hear from us."

            "All right," Tenchi said. He pointed the sword hilt towards Ryoko and closed his eyes. Ryoko spread her arms in front of her and closed her eyes as well. A gem disappeared from the sword and reappeared on Ryoko's left wrist. Ryoko opened her eyes, expecting to see all three gems. There was only one.

            "Hey! You only gave me one!"

            Tenchi nodded. "That's right."

            Ryoko laughed a little too hard. "It doesn't matter. I can still summon Ryo-Ohki."

            "Ryo-Ohki? What's that?"

            Ryoko sighed. "Don't you know anything? It's the other part of the legend. It's my ship." She moved forward and grabbed Tenchi in an embrace. "Don't be scared. I'm only summoning my ship."

            Ryoko started to concentrate. "Come Ryo-Ohki. Come to me. Come!"

            There was a loud noise from nearby, almost like a cat howling. Ryoko released Tenchi and grabbed his hand. "Come on, Tenchi. Let's go."

            They both vanished.

--------------------

            They reappeared inside a large room. Ryoko walked up to one of several large blue crystals hanging in the air and placed her hands to either side of it. Tenchi just stood there, gazing around. He suddenly felt very heavy as the room started to move.

            "Just relax, Tenchi," Ryoko called. "Ryo-Ohki and I are going to take care of everything now."

            "We're inside Ryo-Ohki?" Tenchi asked, but got no reply.

            Ryoko was busy at the crystal, obviously the controls. She turned it different ways, the ship seeming to turn with it. In fact it was.

            "There is no escape from punishment," the voice said again. You're under arrest whether you like it or not." The ship rocked violently. They were under attack. Tenchi tumbled over to some kind of model. A model of his house. With a little figure of his father. It moved slightly. It was his father.

            "What?" Tenchi yelled. "What have you done to my house?"

            "I hope you don't mind. I didn't want to worry about it, so I shrank it and brought it with us."

            "You did what?" Tenchi shouted. But a reply wasn't going to be given, for two large logs had appeared in the ship with them. They both had markings on them, one red and the other blue. The red one advanced on Ryoko. She just stood there, seemingly helpless. The log advanced until it was almost on top of her. Then it was. It had absorbed her into itself, in much the same way as she walked through walls.

            Then Tenchi noticed the other log. It was approaching him. Tenchi started yelling for help, but help was not to come. Everything went black for Tenchi.

--------------------

            He woke up in what appeared to be a forest. Trees surrounded him. It seemed like a nice place to be. Tenchi stood up for a better look. He seemed to be in a circle of vines that hung from a tree above him. He walked towards a gap and tried to walk through. But he couldn't. The vines closed together, trapping Tenchi. The only way he could get free was going back into the middle area. He did so, and tried jumping through another gap, only to be caught again. Tenchi mumbled and took his penknife out of his pocket. He pounced on a vine and started attacking it with the knife.

            "Take that! And that!" he said, cutting bits off the vine. A giggle stopped him. He looked up.

            A young girl was standing there. She had long green hair in two plaits, tied by red bands. Pink eyes looked at him, surrounded by freckles. Two green triangular gems joined together on her forehead, pointing downwards. She wore a green dress with light pink sleeves. The join down the front was a yellow and black stripe. A strange white animal, like a ferret, sat on her shoulder. She giggled again.

            "Who, who are you?" Tenchi asked.

            "Hi. I'm Sasami," the young girl said.

            "Nice to meet you. I'm Tenchi."

            "Nice to meet you."

            "Where is this place?" Tenchi asked.

            "We're on my sister's ship Ryu-Oh," Sasami replied.

            "Then you're an alien? From the planet Sasami?"

            "No silly," Sasami giggled. "I'm from the planet Jurai."

            "Oh." Tenchi reached out a hand towards the white ferret, which promptly stuck out a long thin tongue and licked his finger. Tenchi pulled back hurridly. Sasami giggled.

            "Listen, Tenchi, do you want to play a game?"

            "What kind of game?"

            "First, you need to be let out." Sasami pulled out a short wooden stick, of the same design as Tenchi's sword. She pointed it at the vines and they separated, letting Tenchi walk out of his organic prison.

            "Hey, that's the same as my sword," Tenchi said. He reached for it in his belt, but it wasn't there. "Aah! Where's my sword? It looks like that, but longer. Where is it?" Tenchi calmed down and smiled at Sasami. "Hey, Sasami, can you do me a favour?"

            "I'll do a favour for you if you do me a favour," Sasami replied.

--------------------

            "My sister is sleeping through there," Sasami pointed. Tenchi and Sasami had gone to an open field, at one end of which was a river. She was pointing towards a type of structure, closed in by curtains. Tenchi could just about make out a large rectangular object in the middle of it.

            "So what do you want me to do again?" Tenchi asked.

            "I want you to get her head ornament and bring it back to me," Sasami said.

            "Can't I just go back home? I haven't done anything wrong. I'm not even sure why I'm here."

            Sasami frowned. "Just go!" she said, pushing Tenchi towards the curtained structure. She stifled a giggle as she watched Tenchi proceed quietly and nervously to the bedroom.

            "Don't mind me," Tenchi whispered apprehensively, "I'm just passing through. The door was open; I hope you don't mind."

            He cautiously approached the large bed. A woman was sound asleep there. She had long purple hair, which was currently tied up, and two tresses outlined the face. The face was smooth and delicate. A wooden head ornament crossed her forehead. It seemed to be fastened tightly to her head.

            "Give me a break," Tenchi whispered in exasperation. "I'm supposed to get that off her?"

            The young woman stirred and rolled over. Her hand, which had previously been concealed by her head, gripped Tenchi's sword. Tenchi's eyes widened in recognition.

            "Well, first thing's first," he said. He circled the bed and reached over to take the sword. He managed to get a slight grip on it, but stumbled. He stopped himself from falling onto the lady, and made a fresh attempt to retrieve his sword. The woman rolled over to her previous position.

            Tenchi stood up and went round the bed. He tried to grasp the sword, but the woman had rolled onto her back. Realising this was getting him nowhere, Tenchi moved to the foot of the bed and crawled up and over the female body. He was poised over the woman as he grabbed his sword. She didn't seem to want to let go. Tenchi pulled harder, struggling to free it from her grasp. He violently pulled it free, waking the woman up in the process. She started to scream, but Tenchi clamped his hand over her mouth. The girl pulled her legs up and kicked Tenchi away.

            "Asaka! Kamidake!" she shouted. "Put this person to death!"

            She watched Tenchi as he made a very hasty retreat. "My, how fast he runs," she remarked.

--------------------

            Sasami was laughing loudly as Tenchi ran past. He picked her up and ran on. Behind him were the two big logs with the symbols, as he found out when he glanced back.

            "Sasami, stop your logs!" Tenchi panted. "They're going to kill me!"

            "They're guardians of Jurai," Sasami said, laughing slightly. "And they're not mine. They're my sisters. I can't control them. That way." She pointed down one fork in the path they had come to. Tenchi took her advice and ran. He came to a tree with an opening in the front, large enough for a person to easily get through. He jumped in and a strange sensation came over him, as his body was transplaced to another part of the ship.

            This place was a lot like the area Tenchi had woken up in. Ryoko stood in a similar circle of vines, leaning casually through them. She snapped to attention as she saw Tenchi and Sasami appear nearby.

            "Hi, Tenchi," she said. "Over here!"

            Tenchi approached, letting Sasami down. Sasami skipped towards Ryoko, regarding her with interest.

            "Tenchi, you're alright!" Ryoko said. "Now let me out and we'll be going."

            "You're leaving?" Sasami said sadly.

            "I can't do that," Tenchi said. "I don't know how."

            Tenchi's sword glowed slightly. The vines near him suddenly opened up.

            "Well, I guess you can after all," Ryoko said.

            "That's enough!" The voice behind them caught their attention. They turned round to see the old girl and the two logs. Sasami hid behind Tenchi.

            "I don't know how you got out, but you're not going any further," the girl said. She spotted Sasami hiding behind Tenchi. "Sasami. Did you let him out?"

            Sasami stopped hiding. "Yes," she said in a quiet voice.

            "You know you shouldn't have."

            "I'm sorry, Ayeka, I was just bored."

            "That's no excuse," the girl snapped. She looked up at Tenchi. "You. I believe your name is Tenchi, yes?" Tenchi nodded. "I'm going to ask you a question. Do you know where my brother Yosho is?"

            Tenchi thought. "Yosho? He was my ancestor. I'm pretty sure he's dead."

            Ayeka fell to her knees. "No," she said weakly. "My brother. He's dead? This can't be." She started to cry.

            "Yeah, yeah, whatever," Ryoko said, bringing Tenchi into an embrace. "We'll just be on our way now." She closed her eyes and concentrated.

            Ayeka stood up. She quickly jumped aside as a part of Ryo-Ohki burst through the floor just underneath her. Ryoko ran towards it, dragging Tenchi behind her. They both phased through it and appeared inside Ryo-Ohki.

            "Hold on tight, Tenchi," Ryoko said. "We're going for a little dive."

            "You mean a kamikaze dive?" Tenchi exclaimed.

            "Don't worry. We'll survive. Ryo-Ohki is a lot stronger than you think."

            Tenchi felt his weight shifting as Ryo-Ohki rotated into position to plunge the attached ship down to the ground. They started to descend.

            A large screen appeared in mid-air. The purple haired girl, Ayeka, was displayed on it.

            "Ryoko, I order you to cease this at once!" she demanded. Ryoko just smirked. "Stop this immediately!" Ryoko started giggling. Ayeka hmph'ed and the screen disappeared. There was a sound of an explosion.

            "What's going on?" Tenchi yelled.

            "Her ship's outer frame just exploded. She probably ordered it to," Ryoko replied.

            The turbulence increased rapidly as they entered the atmosphere. The walls of Ryo-Ohki glowed red from the heat. All that Tenchi remembered from then was an explosion and wetness.

--------------------

            They had landed in the lake near to the Masaki Shrine. The Ryo-Ohki had been underneath the other ship at the time, due to skimming across the nearby sea, and so was completely submerged. The other ship, or rather, its core, floated on top of the water, surrounded by odd ends of wood, which had made up the exterior frame of the ship.

            Tenchi's house was now in front of the lake, thanks to Ryoko. Inside, Tenchi, Sasami, Ryoko and Tenchi's father sat, eating breakfast. Ayeka burst in from outside. She had been trying in vain to save her ship, which she called Ryu-Oh.

            "Sasami, help me save my ship!" she said.

            "But why?" Sasami replied. "There's nothing we can do."

            Ayeka turned and ran back outside. There was a cry, and then a loud noise, like liquid bubbling. Tenchi looked outside. Ayeka had tripped, explaining the cry, and the wood she had been carrying had hit her ship, causing it to completely submerge. That explained the loud noise.

            Ayeka walked back in, followed by another woman. She had dark tanned skin, yellow hair, blue eyes and wore a blue, white and black uniform. She had said that she was Mihoshi, a member of the Galaxy Police. She had been on Ryu-Oh as well, but asleep. She wasn't the ideal law enforcer. The very little Tenchi had seen of her suggested that she was very clumsy, and something resembling absentmindedness. She was currently trying to console Ayeka, and not doing very well at it. They sat down at the table, and started to eat.

            "Look on the bright side, Tenchi," his father Nobuyuki said. "Now the house is right next to the shrine. It's also in a nice place, and there's four pretty young ladies living here as well. Also, I'll have to live in town, because of my job, so you'll have the place all to yourself."

            "Maybe. I don't know," Tenchi said half-heartedly.

--------------------

            It was now a week later, about half way though the school summer holiday. Ayeka had hardly come out of her room, refusing to spend time in the company of Ryoko. Tenchi was a little disappointed with this, as Ayeka seemed like a nice person as long as Ryoko wasn't around.

            Tenchi had returned to the house one morning after giving the shrine a preliminary clean. At the back of his mind he wondered where Chibi, his cat had got to. He entered the house.

            Ayeka was there. She was standing at the bottom of the stairs, shouting at Ryoko, who was sitting on the couch with Sasami. Sasami was clutching what looked like a large black egg. Ayeka noticed Tenchi's presence, and was immediately silenced. She walked up to Tenchi and bowed.

            "I thank you for your gracious hospitality for all this time," she said humbly, "and I apologise for any inconvenience I may have put you through, and, umm, thank you very much," she rushed.

            "You're, umm, welcome, Ayeka," Tenchi replied.

            Ryoko walked up to them, clutching the egg. She gave it to Tenchi, who held it with cautious interest.

            "Do you like it, Tenchi?" she asked. "It's our baby. It's going to hatch soon."

            Tenchi was stunned into silence as he numbly held the egg. It cracked, and half of it exploded off.

"Yaah!" Tenchi exclaimed, as he dropped it to the ground, completely surprised by it. It rolled along the floor and stopped. A small creature was inside it. It had long ears, like a rabbit, but the rest of the body looked like a cat. It had dark brown fur and a small red gem in its forehead. Ryoko picked it up.

            "Oh, it's so cute!" Sasami exclaimed.

            "This is Ryo-Ohki," Ryoko announced.

            "You mean, like your spaceship?" Tenchi asked.

            "It is my spaceship," Ryoko said. "My ship automatically reproduces itself if it's destroyed. You must have been stupid if you really thought it was Tenchi's child."

            Ayeka turned and walked out.

            "Ayeka, wait," Tenchi called after her.

            "Everyone's making fun of me," Ayeka said, standing by the doorway. "I'm leaving."

            "But I'm not making fun of you," Tenchi said. "At least, I wasn't trying to." These words meant nothing as Ayeka left. Tenchi sighed.

--------------------

            Later that day, Tenchi was training with his grandfather, Katsuhito. He was in a small clearing in the surrounding forest, jumping around on small bits of wood half buried into the ground, trying to hit a swinging target with a wooden sword.

            "Watch your footing," Katsuhito warned. But Tenchi slipped and fell, landing painfully on the ground. He pulled himself up.

            "Let's go back to the basics," Katsuhito said, picking up another wooden sword. He advanced to Tenchi, and got into a ready stance. Tenchi did similarly, pointing his sword at his grandfather's left shoulder. Katsuhito did the same.

            "Come," Katsuhito said.

            "Hai!"

            They started to fight. Tenchi was quite adept with the sword, but Katsuhito blocked every thrust and managed to tap Tenchi with his sword several times.

            There was a crash from some bushes to the side of them. Tenchi turned and looked, and was hit on the head by the old man's sword. He clutched his head in pain.

            "Grampa, was that part of the routine?" he asked.

            "No," Katsuhito admitted.

            Tenchi walked over to the bushes and looked over. Ayeka was sprawled on the ground just behind them, her dress splayed out, revealing most of her legs. Her left leg was bleeding. Obviously she had hurt it when she fell.

            Ayeka quickly covered up as she noticed Tenchi. Katsuhito came round and examined her leg.

            "It's hurt," he said. "You need to give it a rest for a few days. Tenchi, help her home."

            "Sir, if I may ask," Ayeka said. "What sword technique was that? Where did you learn it from?"

            Katsuhito just stood up and walked away. "Tenchi will see that you get safely home," he said.

            Tenchi helped Ayeka up, and knelt down so that she could climb onto his back. He stood up a bit shakily and started walking home.

            It started to rain heavily. Tenchi ran as fast as he could manage towards an old tool shed nearby. They went in, and Tenchi let Ayeka down. He took off his shirt and wrung it out. A lot of water came out of it. He noticed Ayeka's look.

            "Well, I'll be outside if you need me," he said.

            Ayeka looked up. "But it's cold outside. Please, stay here."

            And so he did. He managed to make a fire, which kept them warm and dried their clothes. They sat in silence for a while.

            "I'm sorry for the way I've been behaving," Ayeka said. "It's not proper of me. It's all because of that devil woman."

            "Why? What did she do?"

            "It all started about seven hundred years ago. I was six, and was destined to marry my half-brother. You may find it strange to marry your brother, but on Jurai it's not. Then she came. She destroyed many cities, including my home, the Imperial Palace."

            "Imperial Palace?"

            "Yes. I am the first crown princess of the Royal Family of Jurai."

            "You're royalty?" Tenchi exclaimed. "I had no idea. And Sasami is a princess too?"

            Ayeka nodded. "She is the second crown princess. She will probably not have to uphold the Royal Family's honour, but I will."

            Tenchi thought. "I should be apologising to you. I had no idea you were royalty. I'm sorry I've not been a better host."

            "That's alright. You couldn't have known. Anyway, when Ryoko came to Jurai, she destroyed many places. My brother Yosho chased her away and pursued her in his ship. He disappeared, and I haven't heard from him since. As soon as I was old enough to get my own ship, I followed his last known direction, hoping to find him. I placed myself in a state of no time for the past seven hundred years, not aging at all. I detected a short-range distress call from Mihoshi's outpost, as her ship had been damaged beyond what she could repair. I rescued her, and was going to return her to the Galaxy Police Headquarters, when I detected a signal from what appeared to be my brother's ship. I came here to investigate, but found Ryoko instead. I was going to arrest her for everything she had done to Jurai, and get her to tell me about my brother, but then you came along."

            "My grandfather told me stories about a great warrior from the stars," Tenchi said. "I didn't believe them, but now I'm not sure. They tell of an evil demon that came to Earth, destroying everything. One day, a great warrior came down, riding on the back of a noble dragon. He wielded a sword of great spiritual power. He defeated the demon and locked it away in a cave using his sword. I guess that demon was Ryoko, then. And the sword was the one I was trying to get back on your spaceship."

            "This sword may hold some answers," Ayeka said, pulling it out of her clothing. "I just wish I knew them."

            Ayeka stopped and looked down. "You are Yosho's ancestor. That means that he has married another and had children. It also means we are related. In a way, you are a member of the Jurai royal family too."

            "I'm related to a royal family?" Tenchi asked in disbelief.

            "I still hope that my brother is alive somewhere. I just wish I shall find him."

            "You think he's still alive? It's been seven hundred years. You were frozen in time, but I'm pretty sure he couldn't. No-one can live for that long."

            "Nevertheless, I still believe that he is alive," Ayeka said.

            There was silence.

            "So I'm part Juraian," Tenchi said. "What is Jurai like?"

            "It was a beautiful planet," Ayeka said. "On a clear night, you could stand at the palace and see the twin asteroid rings glinting beautifully from the Sun. It's a lot like this planet, only much less pollution. You see, we believe in the spiritual power of natural life. It holds great powers for those who respect it. Each member of the royal family even owns their own treeship, a large living ship much like mine. We all believe that the goddess Tsunami watches over us and blesses us. We in turn live our lives pleasantly to ensure happiness and peace throughout the galaxy."

            "You said that it 'was' a beautiful planet. Does that mean that it no longer exists?"

            "Of course not. Jurai still exists. It's just that, Ryoko came and destroyed many places. She destroyed quite a lot, turning it all into a burning nightmare, before my brother drove her away."

            "And you also said that you spread peace throughout the galaxy. How far so?"

            "The Juraian Empire spans nine parts of ten whole segments of the galaxy. The Royal Family controls ninety percent of all the stars and planets in this galaxy. The rest support growing civilisations, which are protected by Juraian law. Earth is just such a protected planet. It is ensured that no outside contact is made with these protected civilisations until we believe they are ready to be incorporated into our Empire."

            "I guess that failed then," Tenchi said. "At least with me, anyway."

            "It couldn't be helped," Ayeka said. She sighed. "But now I'm stuck here. With Ryu-Oh destroyed, I can't leave this planet. My only hope is that a passing ship will notice I'm here, and pick me up."

            "Don't worry," Tenchi reassured. "I'm sure you'll be rescued soon enough." He stopped and looked at the fire. He was about to say something when a rustle from behind him stopped him. He turned around.

            A black shadow darted out of the ambient shadows, and leapt onto Ayeka's chest. Ayeka froze for a second, then started screaming and shook it off. It tumbled to the floor and 'Myah!"-ed. It was that small creature which had hatched from the egg that morning.

            "Ryo-Ohki?" Tenchi asked. The small creature walked up to Tenchi and rubbed against his leg. "I guess it is then."

            Tenchi looked around for some food for the furry animal, but all he found was a basket of carrots. Ryo-Ohki didn't mind, though, and started eating its way through them.

            "Hey, you eat all them and you'll grow up to be a fine spaceship," Tenchi said, laughing slightly.

            Ayeka finished recovering from the shock. She watched Ryo-Ohki with interest.

            "Miss Ayeka, do you know what it is?" Tenchi asked. "It must belong to a certain species."

            "It does. It is known as a cabbit. Its appearance is half cat, and half rabbit, hence the name."

            "I didn't think you liked it. Ryoko was laughing at you before because of it."

            "I didn't, but I grew to like it over the day. And it's a female cabbit."

            "Female? How can you tell?"

            "The colouring. Females are dark brown, and males are off-white. This one is a female."

            "Oh."

            They both watched Ryo-Ohki for a while. Tenchi teased her with a carrot, and Ryo-Ohki jumped around, trying to snatch it from his grasp. The whole scene was amusing.

            After a while, Tenchi cocked his head. "Do you hear that?" he asked.

            "Hear what?" Ayeka asked.

            "Precisely. It's stopped raining." He got up and opened the door to check. Sure enough, the sun had started shining, the rain clouds retreating over the horizon. He turned to Ayeka. "Shall we be getting back now?"

            Ayeka nodded, and put her almost dry clothes back on. Tenchi did the same. Ayeka stepped forward, but her injured leg still hurt too much to walk. She collapsed forwards into Tenchi's arms. They looked at each other for a long moment, blushing furiously. Ayeka pulled herself up, and Tenchi helped her onto his back. They walked out towards home.

            "Do you want to see Ryoko's cave?" Tenchi asked. "Maybe you'll find some clues there about your brother."

            Ayeka spotted something nearby. "What is that?" she pointed.

            "That? It's the oldest tree in the forest. Some legends say that it can heal the wounded. Another says that you can call for rain if you wish for it."

            They went to it. A large circle of water surrounded it, turning it into its own private island, only accessible by hopping over the few stepping-stones. They did so. Tenchi let Ayeka down, so she could examine it for a bit. She stood back.

            "There is no doubt," she said. "This is my brothers ship, Funa-Oh. Remember that there was a tree similar to this in my ship? This core is the heart of the ship, the soul of the ship. The rest is just additional, grown and spawned by this core."

            "You mean this transforms into a spaceship?" Tenchi asked.

            Ayeka shook her head. "Not this one. This has taken root, and so cannot transform again." She took out the sword and tapped it twice against the tree.

            Everything around them suddenly inverted colours, as if they were observing from another place.

"What is this?" Tenchi exclaimed.

            "This is the memory of the ship," Ayeka explained.

            Images appeared in front of them. Images of Ryoko in a tight-fitting red and black outfit. Her eyes looked mean and menacing. She swung her red light sword at a young man, of perhaps twenty years old. Tenchi correctly guessed that this was Yosho. Yosho was wielding Tenchi's sword. He had stuck the blade through Ryoko's neck. Her three red gems were absorbed by the blade, travelled to the hilt and appeared in the end of it. Ryoko sagged.

            The images ended. Ayeka looked at Tenchi.

            "Now I know my brother is alive. Since this tree is still alive, then somewhere on this planet my brother also lives."

            "I'm sure you'll find him, Ayeka," Tenchi said.

            Ayeka smiled and blushed slightly. She offered Tenchi the sword. Tenchi took it slowly.

            "I am returning this sword to you, Lord Tenchi," Ayeka said. "You can use it to protect me."

            "Use it?" Tenchi asked. "But I can't work this thing."

            "Yoo-hoo, Tenchi!" Ryoko's voice resounded throughout the area. She appeared in front of them, beyond the moat. She disappeared and reappeared next to Tenchi, whom she promptly hugged.

            "I've been looking all over for you, Tenchi," she said. She noticed that Tenchi was holding his sword. "Hey, Tenchi, you got the sword back! I was looking everywhere for that."

            "Not quite," Ayeka said. "I returned the sword to Lord Tenchi."

            Ryoko looked at her. "Okay, so you're annoyed we got the sword back. Ah well."

            "But it's true," Tenchi said.

            Ryoko released him and looked at him. "Fine then. I come all this way just to help you and this is what I get? I'm off." Ryoko disappeared while flying off.

            "To help us?" Tenchi and Ayeka said, almost in unison.

            "Hey, Ryoko!" Tenchi called. "Come back!"

            "Forget it," Ayeka said.

            "But you never know what Ryoko might do when she's upset."

            "Oh. And here I thought you were going to protect me, Lord Tenchi," Ayeka said. "Let's go, Lord Tenchi."

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In the next episode of Continuum T:

            The animé comparison continues, with a powerful enemy threatening to destroy the entire planet. Ryoko's past is revealed, another woman joins the group, and Tenchi learns something startling, in "Aboard the Soja". Will Tenchi be able to defeat this villain without the use of his Saiyan abilities? Or will he sacrifice all good inside him to save the world with these powers, even at the expense of his own morality? Will this fifth woman be after Tenchi as well? And will Ryoko ever stop pestering our hero? Find out in the next episode of Continuum T.


	5. Aboard the Soja

Previously on Continuum T:

            Two princesses, a demon and a Galaxy Police officer have moved in with Tenchi. Tenchi has learnt that he has royal blood in his veins, belonging to the Royal Family of the Empire of Jurai, which controls over nine tenths of the galaxy. Tenchi has also been left fairly helpless, having renounced his Saiyan powers and all his abilities. He only has one weapon: a light sword over which he doesn't seem to have any control. I think the regression to this plot line is just tacky, don't you?

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            Continuum T, Part V – Aboard the Soja

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            A month and a half later, it was September. This meant that Tenchi had to go back to school, to start his last year of learning. It was about this time that Tenchi showed the girls the portal to his house in England. He knew that Ryoko and Ayeka's constant fighting would almost certainly spill over into the other country, but there really was no other way to keep it hidden from them. Besides, Tenchi would now visit them every weekend, or vice versa. Questions were asked as to its origin, about how it was created, and Tenchi said that a woman with special powers had put it there to help Tenchi, as she was friends with him. Tenchi was quick to add that he hadn't seen this woman for several months now, and that he thought she wasn't going to visit him again.

--------------------

            A month or two after this, half term came around. Tenchi secured his house and slipped through the portal to Japan. He was greeted by a party to welcome him home, even though he was only staying for a week. Since Japan is nine hours ahead of England, when he stepped through the gateway in England at nine in the morning, it was six in the evening later that day when he emerged a split second later in Japan. The party proceeded nicely, with a few minor fights between Ayeka and Ryoko, and one or two large ones. Tenchi sighed as he watched the fourteenth hole appear in a wall, knowing he'd be spending most of his holiday repairing them. When he wasn't doing that, of course, he was planting carrots.

--------------------

            "Myah!"

            "Hello, Ryo-Ohki," Tenchi greeted as the little cabbit came bounding up to him. He kneeled down to stroke her, and plant a carrot seed at the same time. He looked up at the vast field of which he occupied a small corner. "You see this, Ryo-Ohki? This entire field has carrots planted in it. And they're all for you. You eat so many of them that we had to do this."

            "Myah!" Ryo-Ohki jumped around excitedly at the mention of carrots, and started burrowing. Tenchi managed to grab her ears and tug her out before she disappeared completely into the hole she was digging.

            "Not yet!" Tenchi said. "They need to grow first. Oh, now don't cry."

            He picked her up and put her on his shoulder, where she nuzzled against his head. Something else nuzzled against the other side of his face as two arms wrapped around him from behind. Tenchi's eyes darted sideways, to see Ryoko.

            "Hello, Ryoko," Tenchi said, slightly tediously.

            "Hi there, Tenchi," Ryoko said. "Why are you out here all alone, when you could be inside with me? It's too cold out." To demonstrate this point she removed her arms from Tenchi's waist and rubbed her arms vigorously.

            "I guess I'm used to it," Tenchi said. "Hey, I hope it's going to snow soon. The place looks so nice when there's snow. Maybe the lake will even freeze over, so we can go skating."

            "What is skating?"

            "You've never skated?" Tenchi asked. Ryoko shook her head. "Well, basically, you wear these special boots with thin pieces of metal stuck to the bottom of them. Then you kind of glide along over the ice. It's a lot of fun, and very relaxing."

            "You're going to have to show me, then," Ryoko said, clinging to Tenchi once more. She drew closer to him to share his warmth. Tenchi tried to pull away, but quickly remembered that it was no use. Instead, he bent down and picked up his trowel and seed basket, hindered somewhat by Ryoko, and straightened up.

            "Aren't you going to protest?" Ryoko asked. "Aren't you going to try and get me off you?"

            "Would that do anything?"

            "No," Ryoko grinned.

            "Do you want to get off?"

            "Of course not." Ryoko snuggled up even closer to him.

            "Then what's the point? As long as you don't bother me, I don't really mind."

            "You mean, bother like this?" Ryoko asked. She gently blew onto the side of Tenchi's face, just in front of his ear.

            "Yes, like that. It's cold enough already."

            "Alright then," Ryoko said, continuing to blow. "But I thought you didn't mind the cold."

            Tenchi sighed, knowing he wasn't going to win. He started to walk home, Ryo-Ohki bounding along behind them, Ryoko half-floating, half-clinging to his neck.

            Tenchi watched the ground as he went. There were a lot of sneaky roots around here, just waiting to trip some hapless person up. He noticed a tiny white fleck of something fall onto the ground just in front of him. He looked up at the sky. Grey clouds filled his vision, interspersed with hundreds of tiny white flecks.

            "Hey, I think it's snowing!" he announced. Ryoko looked up at the snowflakes. Ryo-Ohki, on the other hand, didn't seem to like the snow that much. In fact, she hated it. She scampered home fast, in search of somewhere sheltered to hide.

            Tenchi watched as she went off. "I guess she's never seen snow before." He looked back up. "The first snow of the season. They say that if you make a wish during it, it'll come true."

            "Well, I know what I'm wishing for," Ryoko said, squeezing Tenchi's chest. Tenchi just smiled inwardly.

            "If you wish hard enough, you may just get it," he said to himself.

--------------------

            The first snowfall of the season lasted a while, covering the entire landscape with a white blanket thick enough to absorb a person's feet. Sasami stared at the scenery as it changed in amazement. Mihoshi also watched, occasionally glancing at a comic book she was reading. Ayeka sat on the sofa, regarding the scene through the big windows with mild interest. Ryo-Ohki had found herself a nice spot on Tenchi's bed, where she curled up and slept.

            Tenchi entered the house, with Ryoko closely following him. They shook off the snow and went into the main room.

            "And just where have you been, Ryoko?" Ayeka asked.

            "I've just been helping Tenchi sow his seed," Ryoko replied, managing to make it sound rude without much effort.

            "Carrot seeds," Tenchi said. "And you didn't really help, you know."

            "It's not my fault I got there just as you finished, is it?"

            "I'll bet you were just waiting until he was finished, just so you didn't have to help," Ayeka said.

            "How much do you wanna bet, princess?" Ryoko threatened.

            "Please don't fight," Tenchi said. He had said it many times before, but had never actually gotten them to stop. "I mean it."

            The tone of that last sentence stopped the two women. Tenchi had never said anything with that tone of voice before.

            "If you fight, you'll only make holes in the wall, and it's cold out," Tenchi said. "Don't bother. If you did fight, it would only end like every other fight."

            "You tell them, Tenchi!" Sasami cheered.

            "I don't care which of you is the strongest," Tenchi said. "I don't like it when you fight, especially because you're fighting over me. Just don't, or if you have to, fight outside, far away from the house."

            Ryoko and Ayeka looked outside. The snow-covered landscape didn't seem that inviting.

            "Forget it," Ryoko said. "Besides, I've made a wish, and I need to be with Tenchi for it to come true."

            "What kind of wish?" Ayeka asked.

            "That's for me to know, and Tenchi to find out. It's a secret," Ryoko said, winking at Tenchi.

--------------------

            It was later, maybe three in the afternoon. Everyone was playing outside, including Ryo-Ohki, who was persuaded to join them. Once she had gotten used to the snow, Ryo-Ohki didn't mind it.

            Three snowmen stood side by side. Once had been made by Sasami and Tenchi. It was the vision of the perfect snowman, complete with a kindly facial expression. Ayeka had made the second. It was slightly misshapen, and the stick arms poked out slightly too low, but it was good nonetheless. The last one was Ryoko's. It had been made in response to Ayeka's, and was yet another outlet of their dislike for each other. This snowman was, well, odd. It was more realistic, in a demented sort of way. The face was shaped to resemble Ayeka. It was actually a recognisable likeness, but the way it was distorted completely countered this. The snowman looked more demonic than was probably thought possible. The top half had actually disappeared, knocked off by Ayeka. Nearby, simmering holes pitted the snow-covered garden.

            Everyone but Tenchi was messing around, throwing snowballs at each other. Tenchi himself had gone inside to get everyone warm drinks. Of course, Ryoko and Ayeka were a bit more competitive than the others, but Tenchi was glad they had at least stopped properly fighting, at least for now.

            Ryoko was ducked behind a small hedge, packing another snowball. She stood up and swung back to throw it, then stopped. Off guard, Ryoko was hit square in the chest by one of Ayeka's snowballs. Ryoko stepped back, dropped the ball and clenched her fists. Her outfit changed to a tight-fitting red and black fighting suit. Black framed the sides of her face to about the middle of her eyes.

            Everyone else looked at her. They were confused as to what she was doing. Ryoko looked intently at a spot near the lake. Everyone turned to look there.

            A bright green ball of light appeared, large enough to absorb a person easily. A figure emerged from it. He wore black clothes and had slightly long hair. A small pair of glasses with green lenses rested on his nose.

            "Kagato," Ryoko said.

            "Ryoko, how nice to see you again," the man apparently called Kagato said.

            "I'm not your slave any more, Kagato," Ryoko said, moving into a ready stance.

            "But how can you say that, when you have brought me the three things I so desire?"

            "What do you mean?"

            "Princess Ayeka, the first crown princess of Jurai, and Sasami, the second crown princess. Also Yosho, the first crown prince of Jurai's Royal Family."

            Ayeka gasped. "Yosho? Where is he?"

            "You don't even realise it, do you?" Kagato smirked. "Never mind. Ryoko, you're coming with me."

            "Forget it," Ryoko said. "You can't control me any more."

            "Oh, but I can. I created you, Ryoko," Kagato said smoothly. "It was me who chose your form. It was chosen merely because it was convenient. Your original form could have been anything I wanted it to be. Like a stone. Would you like to be a stone, Ryoko?"

            "I'm not going with you," Ryoko said, her voice wavering.

            Tenchi had emerged from the house, carrying the hot drinks. When he saw what was going on, he dropped the tray and started running towards the group.

            "I'm not giving you a choice here, Ryoko," Kagato said. He raised his arm towards her. Ryoko's body went limp, held up as if tied by the waist to something. She drifted towards Kagato, and they both went back inside the green ball, which vanished.

            Tenchi arrived at the others. "What's going on?" he asked.

            "It's Kagato," Mihoshi said. "The eternally most wanted criminal. He's responsible for countless destructions, and he even kidnapped a student from the Jurai Academy, along with a professor. He's very dangerous."

            "And he took Ryoko," Sasami said. "He said he made her, and took her away."

            "Well, we need to rescue her," Tenchi said. "But how?"

            "My locator watch can tell us where Kagato is hiding," Mihoshi said.

--------------------

            They followed Mihoshi's watch to the large tree Tenchi and Ayeka had stood under some time ago. They were at Funa-Oh's core.

            Mihoshi aimed her standard Galaxy Police gun at a point in the air. "You are under arrest, Kagato," she said. "Come out now, or I'll be forced to shoot you, and it'll really hurt."

            Another green sphere appeared, and Kagato emerged, carrying Ryoko.

            Tenchi stepped forwards, his sword hilt firmly in his grip.

            "Ah, so you have the master key," Kagato said. "Bring it here, there's a good boy."

            Ryoko stirred. "Tenchi, don't let him have it," she managed, before green lightning crackled across her. She slumped again for a second, and then rose. The whites of her eyes were now green.

            "Tenchi, use the sword!" Ayeka called.

            Tenchi swung it into an aggressive stance, expecting the blade to appear, but nothing happened. He started shaking it and hitting it. "Not now! What a useless piece of junk!"

            "Tenchi, remember your training!" Ayeka shouted.

            Tenchi lowered the sword and became calm. The blade came into being. He charged forwards and jumped, swinging the sword straight down at Kagato. Kagato raised his clenched fist and a large green light sword appeared in his hand. He used this to block the blow. Tenchi hopped backwards and got into an aggressive pose. Kagato stretched his hand out at him, and a strong wind blew Tenchi back a few steps. He regained his ground.

            "You're strong, Tenchi," Kagato said. "It makes sense."

            A stronger blast of wind threw Tenchi back and sent him skimming across the nearby water until he hit a large root, which nearly knocked him out.

            "Tenchi!" Ayeka, Mihoshi and Sasami called.

            Kagato approached the fallen Tenchi. "I would have thought you would be a more competent opponent, Tenchi, but I see I was wrong. You probably couldn't find your strength. Now the master key is mine." He reached down to get it, but it flew off. Kagato turned to see it fly into the hand of Katsuhito.

            "So, the first crown prince has joined the fight," Kagato said.

            "Are you playing with something that doesn't belong to you?" Katsuhito said.

            "Tell me, what is the secret of the ultimate power of the Universe?" Kagato asked. "It is said that those who wield that sword can use it."

            "Ultimate power of the Universe? There's no such thing. And even if there was, it couldn't be controlled by the likes of you."

            Kagato snarled and pointed at the old man. A beam of energy shot forwards at his head. Katsuhito moved very slightly, allowing it to pass safely. Kagato charged at Tenchi's grandfather, his green sword again in his hand. The blue blade of the master key also appeared, and Katsuhito charged as well. They fought, exchanging blows well, until Katsuhito jumped back. He threw his sword at Kagato, slicing his hand off, before sticking deeply into the large tree.

            Kagato looked at his sleeve, and a new gloved hand appeared from within. He moved towards the sword. "Fool. This sword does belong to me. And now it's mine." He grabbed the hilt.

            Blue lightning cracked around his hand, hurting him. He pulled away. "You've won for now. But if you want Ryoko back, come to my spaceship, the Soja." He and Ryoko flew into another green sphere and disappeared.

            Katsuhito went and helped Tenchi up.

            "Grampa?" Tenchi asked.

            "Tell me, is it true?" Ayeka demanded, grasping the old man. "Are you my brother Yosho?"

            "I am," he said. "I'm sorry to have kept it from you."

            "But your looks," Ayeka said. "You used to be handsome. You've grown old."

            "Hey, we can still get married, though," Yosho said.

            Ayeka pushed her brother away. "Don't be silly. It's not right."

            "Okay, okay. What about Tenchi?" Yosho asked, taking his hand. He placed Ayeka's hand in Tenchi's. "You two would make a lovely couple."

            "Grampa," Tenchi muttered. He let go. "I need to save Ryoko." He walked towards the sword.

            "Are you leaving so soon, Tenchi?" Yosho asked. "Without finishing your training, and with a sword you can't control?"

            "Grampa, I have to do it."

            "Very well. I will give you that sword, Tenchi," Yosho said. "But you must be strong to use it."

            Tenchi grabbed the sword. Blue lightning crackled around his hand. Tenchi grimaced at the pain, but held on. He pulled the sword out of the tree. The lightning stopped.

            "Tenchi-ken has recognised you as its new master, Tenchi," Yosho said. "It is yours now."

            Ryo-Ohki started snarling. Suddenly she darted off to the lake. Everyone followed her, thinking she could smell something. She stood by the lake, screeching. The water started bubbling, and a large round object emerged from the cold water. Ayeka gasped. It was the core shell of her spaceship, Ryu-Oh.

            Ryo-Ohki jumped high. Her body changed shape rapidly and grew a lot, until it looked like Ryoko's spaceship. The core of Ryu-Oh rose and merged with Ryo-Ohki, phased into the middle of it.

            "Well, I guess we have a ship," Tenchi said. "Miss Ayeka, are you coming?"

            Ayeka looked hesitant. Ryoko was her enemy, after all.

            "Come on, Ayeka, go," Sasami urged. "Please save Ryoko."

            "I'm coming too," Mihoshi said. "As a Galaxy Police officer, it is my duty to help protect the people."

            "Thanks." Tenchi looked at Ayeka. She nodded slightly. "Thank you, Ayeka."

--------------------

            Ryo-Ohki emerged from the atmosphere of Earth and started flying towards the large ship nearby, obviously the Soja. It was made out of metal, a huge irregular thing, with many visible weapons.

--------------------

            "So, they're coming to rescue you, Ryoko," Kagato said. He was standing in the middle of the large main platform of the Soja. Nearby was a giant hourglass. All the sand was in the bottom section, and half buried in that was Ryoko. "They must think highly of you, even though you don't deserve it."

            "You leave them alone, Kagato!" Ryoko shouted. "If you harm a hair on Tenchi's head, you'll be sorry. I swear it. You'll be sorry!"

--------------------

            The Soja opened fire. Ryo-Ohki managed to avoid some of the energy attacks, but some others hit, causing damage.

            Inside Ryo-Ohki, everyone was being tossed about, like a leaf in so much wind.

            "Can't this ship do anything?" Ayeka called. "Can it at least fire?"

            "Maybe this crystal does something," Mihoshi pointed. The crystal in question was the same as the others, but it had two red dots in its centre.

            "I order you to figure out what it does," Ayeka said. Another explosion rocked the ship.

            "Believe me, I'd like to try," Mihoshi said. "But I really don't know what I'm doing."

            Another explosion sent the floor angling steeply. Ayeka and Tenchi slid down to the wall in a heap.

            "The stabiliser must have been hit," Ayeka said.

            "Is there anything on your ship that can help?" Tenchi asked.

            "There is," Ayeka replied. "We could summon the Light Hawk Wings."

            "What are they?"

            The stabiliser reset. They stood up. "It is primarily a defence weapon," Ayeka said, "but it can also be used to attack. I'll need to activate it from my ship though." She moved towards the core, but Tenchi stopped her.

            "I'll go," he said. "It's too dangerous. You'll have to direct me, though."

--------------------

            Ryo-Ohki was trying everything she could think of to dodge the incoming blasts.

            "Fool!" Kagato said. "I created that ship. I know every manoeuvre it can make. They don't stand a chance against me."

--------------------

            "Okay, I'm here," Tenchi said.

            "Right." Ayeka was on a view screen in front of Tenchi, on the main control centre of Ryu-Oh. "You need to activate the defence mechanism. Place your sword hilt in the podium."

            Tenchi did so, and concentrated.

--------------------

            Outside, the Soja started to power up a large energy cannon.

            "Now to finish this," Kagato said.

--------------------

            Three flat beams of white light appeared in front of Ryo-Ohki. They rotated and absorbed the last of the small blasts, before folding up and focussing into a bright ball of white energy.

            The Soja released its ball of green energy. The white ball shot towards it. They hit each other and merged, twisting with each other. The white disappeared and the green continued towards Ryo-Ohki.

            The occupants of the ship widened their eyes in fright.

            The ball impacted, destroying the core of Ryu-Oh. The fragments drifted out from the centre of the explosion.

--------------------

            "What have you done?" Ryoko yelled. She powered up, shifting all the sand into the top section. The glass broke and she disappeared.

--------------------

            She reappeared outside. She flew around the wreckage, looking for Tenchi. She spotted something near a large tree. She flew closer, and grabbed the cloth. It was Tenchi's, stained with blood.

            Ryoko clutched the cloth to her face and sobbed into it. She gradually stopped.

            "Kagato," she said in a low tone. "You have stolen the one that was most precious to me. And I will make you pay." Her calmness cracked. "You will pay!" she shouted.

--------------------

            Ryoko appeared in Ryo-Ohki and walked silently to the controls.

            "How did you escape?" Ayeka asked.

            "It doesn't matter. All that matters now is destroying Kagato."

            "But we should be searching for Tenchi," Ayeka protested.

            Ryoko threw the cloth towards her. Ayeka caught it and looked at it.

            "No!" she screamed.

--------------------

            Back on Earth, Sasami stood watching the sky. She had seen a small explosion. Somehow, she knew something was terribly wrong. She could feel it. She started to cry.

--------------------

            Ryoko, Ayeka and Mihoshi appeared on the Soja. Ryoko was in her battle outfit as before. Ayeka wore a pink and black Juraian battle suit. Her face had gone paler, and three black stripes went across either cheek. Mihoshi was wearing a Galaxy Police battle suit.

            Three corridors led from the opening they were in.

            "So which one do we go down?" Ayeka asked.

            "All of them will lead to Kagato," Ryoko replied.

            Unspoken, Ryoko and Ayeka split off down the left and right passages. Mihoshi went down the middle one a few seconds later.

            Each passage was guarded by automated robotic sentry units. Ryoko blasted them with her energy attacks, Ayeka crushed them with her force field and Mihoshi shot them with her energy cannon.

            Ryoko and Ayeka arrived in a large room. Ahead of them, the wall slid open to reveal the main control centre.

            "Seems like he's inviting us in," Ryoko said.

            "Let's not be rude," Ayeka replied.

            They walked through, just as Mihoshi appeared.

            "Hey, wait for me!" she called as the wall started to close. She started to run forward, but realised she had dropped her pink control cube on the floor. Unknown to her, it had accidentally activated a command. She picked it up and ran through the closing wall, not noticing certain changes about her surroundings.

--------------------

            Kagato was playing the large organ when the princess and the pirate entered. He stopped his recital and turned to face them.

            "Here so soon?" he asked.

            "Ayeka, stay back," Ryoko cautioned.

            Ayeka took no notice. She darted forwards, ready to hit Kagato, but was stopped by a shield. It crackled and sent her flying back across the room, where she collided with one of the many stone pillars, nearly seriously hurting her.

            Ryoko disappeared and reappeared besides Kagato, a red light sword in her hand. She swung it straight through him, but it didn't cause any damage. Realisation dawned.

            "A shadow."

            Kagato grabbed her neck from behind. "Seven hundred years has been a bit too long for you, Ryoko," he taunted. "You can't even tell the difference between me and my shadow."

            Ryoko struggled, and sliced his hand off with her sword. Another one grew back. Ryoko flew back and stopped hovering in the air.

            "You're becoming too troublesome," Kagato said. "It's time for you to become a statue."

            Ryoko's feet started solidifying, becoming stone. The changing spread, morphing her body and arms, and finally her head. She dropped to the floor, her solid expression one of fear and surprise.

            "Has anyone ever told you that you look quite nice in grey?" Kagato laughed. He turned his attention towards the princess lying on the ground. He lifted an arm and Ayeka drifted across to him.

--------------------

            "Wow, where is this place?" Mihoshi wondered. The place in question was a lot like the main room where Ryoko and the others were, but instead of pipe organs, a large crystal stood on a podium. Inside was a young red haired girl, wearing a very old Jurai Academy uniform. Mihoshi wandered towards her, unwittingly tripping an alarm.

            Two large stone snakes moved, darting towards Mihoshi. The woman dodged and tried to shoot them with her cannon, but the blasts were ineffective. In desperation she pointed her glove at them, which emitted ice beams, freezing the snakes in place, all the while quoting the standard speech of arrest, as determined by the Act of Galactic Preservation and Protection, Article number 309. Her nervous voice tailed off as she saw they were no longer a threat.

            A seal embedded in the front of the large crystal cracked, breaking the images of the two snakes from the rest of it.

            The ice started cracking around the snakes. Mihoshi started backing away. One of the snakes broke loose and lunged forwards. Mihoshi brought her arms up in a futile defence gesture and screamed.

            "Hey, don't worry," a voice from behind her said. It sounded young and slightly mocking. "You're safe now."

            Mihoshi opened her eyes, to see the mouth of the snake, now stone again. She whimpered and backed away slowly, bumping into the young girl who had been trapped in the crystal.

            "Thanks for saving me, by the way," the girl said. "I'm Washu, the Greatest Scientific Genius of the Universe. I'm also a cutie pie."

            "Is that right?" Mihoshi said. "Your outfit seems to be a Jurai Academy uniform from a long time ago. Were you the student that Kagato kidnapped?"

            "Hey, no. I am the number one scientist in the Universe, you know. You think I'd go around being a student?" Washu waved her arm dismissively and the large stone snakes crumbled into nothing. "Kagato was the student. He managed to capture me, and locked me up in that crystal."

            "Really?" Mihoshi asked. "Well, where are we?"

            "This ship has two layers. A top and a bottom. The space between these layers is one way, so once you come here to the bottom layer, you can't go back up unless Kagato is destroyed."

            Washu walked towards the centre of the floor and waved her arm. The stone Ryoko emerged from the floor. Washu tapped it once and the greyness faded, revealing the animate Ryoko. Ryoko shook her head clear as Washu circled her, inspecting her body.

            "Well, there doesn't seem to be any physical damage," Washu commented. "The nerve of Kagato, turning you into stone. He doesn't even know what you can do."

            "Who are you?" Ryoko asked.

            "I'm Washu, the Greatest Scientific Genius of the Universe. I may not look it, but I'm also your creator."

            "But I thought Kagato made me."

            "No, he lied. Actually, I used my ova for you, so I guess I'm more like your mother than your creator. I also created Ryo-Ohki, this ship and countless other things. Although really, I do look a bit too young to be your mom."

            "How did I get here?" Ryoko asked.

            "Tell me, Ryoko," Washu said. "Who is this Tenchi?"

            "What?" Ryoko said. She summoned her light sword and held it against Washu's neck. "How do you know Tenchi?"

            "Because, as you are connected to Ryo-Ohki, so am I connected to you," Washu replied. "So I know. I know how you feel about him. I know he fills you with happiness. You've never felt like this for anyone before."

            "Shut up," Ryoko said.

            "Ryoko, please," Mihoshi called. "She's not the one you should be pointing your sword at."

            "She's right, you know," Washu said.

            Ryoko hesitantly lowered her sword. "So how do I get out of here?" she asked.

            "For you, it's no problem," Washu said. "Only your astral body was brought here, so you can go back. Oh, and Ryoko?"

            "What?"

            "Do you think that, please, could you call me mom?" Washu asked.

            Ryoko just turned away and vanished.

            "But what can we do?" Mihoshi asked.

            Washu waved a hand around her. A large circle of the floor turned into an image of the battlefield.

            "Oh wow, Washu," Mihoshi exclaimed. "How did you do that?"

            "It doesn't matter," Washu said. "What matters now is that we're supporting Ryoko." To prove this point, Washu pulled out two hand fans from her clothes and started to dance around with them, chanting Ryoko on.

--------------------

            Tenchi's body slowly drifted through space. At his head and feet the two guardians Asaka and Kamidake were projecting a forcefield, keeping Tenchi protected from the harsh conditions of a near perfect vacuum. Tenchi himself was nearly dead and very unconscious. The guardians were concentrating on maintaining the field, and at the same time sensing how the battle aboard the Soja was progressing, so no-one noticed the woman appear, standing on Kamidake's back. She had long light blue hair and two small green gems on her forehead. Her clothing was very lavish, decorated with fine detail. On reflection, she looked like an older version of Sasami.

            The woman walked to Tenchi and drifted up to him. She rested her forehead on his for a second, before pulling away and lying down inside Tenchi. They, and the guardians, glowed and disappeared.

--------------------

            "Lady Ayeka, please tell me about the Jurai power," Yosho said.

            Ayeka looked at her brother. He was how she remembered him before he left. "Brother?" she asked.

            "Ayeka, I need to know about the power only the Jurai Royal Family can control. Tell me." His voice was becoming more forceful.

            "No. You're not my brother," Ayeka said. "No. Get away!"

            Yosho pulled back, the masking illusion revealing Kagato.

            "So, I see Tsunami watches over you as well," he said, annoyed. "If I cannot deceive you into telling me what I need to know, I'll have to force you."

            Kagato gripped Ayeka by her throat and held her at arms length. Ayeka couldn't struggle out of his grip.

            "The rest of your family wasn't cooperative, so I disposed of them. Please don't make me lock you up in a room as well. Now, Lady Ayeka, tell me what I need to know," Kagato said.

            A red bolt of energy shot through his wrist. Kagato released Ayeka and looked at Ryoko. He clenched his hand and the bolt vanished.

            "Ah, Ryoko," he said. "You're late. But then again, your timing was never perfect."

            "I'm not under your control any more, Kagato," Ryoko said. "I can do what I like." She summoned her red light sword.

            Kagato summoned his green sword. "I guess I'll just have to get rid of you first. No problem."

            They flew at each other, repeatedly delivering strong blows, causing shockwaves that caused damage to the surroundings. Ryoko blasted a large stone pillar behind Kagato, which then collapsed on him. Ryoko flew over and stood on the pillar. Kagato emerged from the stone behind her and hit her downwards. He plunged his sword down at her, but she phased into the stone.

            A large hand took shape from the stone around Kagato. Ryoko had bonded with the stone pillar, and now a large statue of her was appearing. It tried to squeeze Kagato, but it crumbled.

--------------------

            "Why isn't Ryoko using her full power?" Washu said.

            Mihoshi stopped dancing. "You mean that isn't her full power?"

            "No. If it was, she would have destroyed Kagato by now." Washu looked around the main room through the floor. Ayeka was struggling to maintain her forcefield while large blocks of rubble fell from above her. Ryoko collapsed nearby.

            "Ah, so that's why," Washu said.

            " 'Ah, so that's why' what?" Mihoshi asked.

            "That other girl is still there," Washu said. "Ryoko's not using her full power because it's very likely that girl will get fried by the enormity of it."

--------------------

            Tenchi stretched out from his curled position. He opened his eyes and looked around. He appeared to be on the main deck of a Juraian ship, like the one Ayeka had, the Ryu-Oh. Asaka and Kamidake stood dormant on two pedestals near the centre. A woman stood between them, the woman from before.

            "Who are you?" Tenchi asked. "Where is this?"

            "I am Tsunami. I am the treeship of Jurai. We are inside of myself."

            "You're the goddess Tsunami? But what do you mean, inside of yourself? You're a person."

            "I have two forms, my human form and my ship form. We are inside of myself."

            "What are Asaka and Kamidake doing over there? Weren't they helping the others? Oh no. The others. I need to get back to them. Please, take me to them."

            "The two guardians are fine. I will take you back, but I must tell you something first."

            "What?" Tenchi asked.

            "I cannot leave this place. You must go alone. It is your path to follow."

            "That's alright," Tenchi said. He held up his sword. "As long as I have this sword, I know that I can manage somehow."

            "Tenchi, do not rely on the sword alone. It is only a tool to access my power. You must trust in your own power."

            "Trust in my own power?" Tenchi said. "My power."

            "Yes."

--------------------

            Ryoko fell to the ground near Ayeka. She was out cold.

            Kagato drifted over to the princess. Ayeka was curled over and very weak. Kagato removed his glove to reveal nothing. The place where his hand should be was filled with air.

--------------------

            "Hey, Mihoshi," Washu said. "Give me your control cube."

            "Um, sure Washu," Mihoshi said, handing it over. "But why?"

            "You'll see," Washu said, twisting the pink cube.

--------------------

            "Now it's time for you to tell me about the power only the Jurai Royal Family can use, Ayeka," Kagato said.

            Ayeka vanished through the floor and emerged in front of Mihoshi. Mihoshi grabbed the weak princess as she fell.

            Kagato appeared, materialising between the group and a large window, outside which was the Earth. Kagato was semi-transparent, though.

            "So I see," Kagato said. "Making it easier for Ryoko to fight, eh? Very clever, Professor. Even I can't do anything to the princess once she's in another dimension."

            "Ryoko and I aren't your slaves any more, Kagato," Washu said evenly. "Just let us go and you can live."

            "Professor, I'd like to show you a little experiment I've been conceiving," Kagato announced. He swept around and gestured to the Earth. "Even as I speak my ship is powering up. It easily has enough energy to destroy this planet."

            "I forbid it," Ayeka said in a shocked quiet voice.

            "Princess Ayeka, you are in no position to forbid anything," Kagato said.

            "What do you hope to accomplish by doing this?" Washu exclaimed.

            "Maybe the princess will talk once she sees the destruction of Earth," Kagato said. "Not to mention her brother and sister."

            Ayeka gasped. "Yosho!" she yelled. "Sasami!" Her voice quietened. "Tenchi."

--------------------

            The energy released itself into a large beam towards the planet. The blue and white blast shot through the vacuum directly towards the blue and white marble of a planet.

            Something materialised in its path. Ten somethings, fanned out. They absorbed the blast and neutralised it. They disappeared and reappeared a lot closer to the Soja, now joined together into what looked like a ship.

--------------------

            Washu gasped. "The ten wings of the Light Hawk. It's Tsunami, the ship of Jurai. Incredible."

--------------------

            Kagato reappeared on the main deck, just as Ryoko, having regained strength, flew at him with an energy sword. He summoned his own and knocked Ryoko out of the way. Ryoko blasted him several times and Kagato glided towards her. He knocked her back.

            Ryoko was caught by something. Tenchi. He was stood there, holding her, wearing a Juraian battle outfit similar to Ayeka's.

            "Tenchi?" Ryoko whispered. "Are you alive?"

            "I'm no ghost," Tenchi replied. He lowered Ryoko to the ground and faced Kagato.

            "So it's a happy reunion, is it?" Kagato asked.

            Tenchi frowned. He charged forwards, wielding his sword. He leapt high, swinging the blade down at Kagato. Kagato's forcefield stopped it from reaching him, instead throwing Tenchi back. The blade on the sword fizzled out.

            "Oh man," Tenchi said. "Just when I need it the most." He shook it, trying to start it again.

            "It's just a rusted old piece of junk, Tenchi," Kagato said. "The Master Key is only a tool to access the power of Tsunami. It's useless when cut off from the source of its power."

            He thrust a hand towards Tenchi. Tenchi flew backwards, crashing into the base of a pillar.

            "Tenchi!" Ryoko shouted. She tried to go and help him but she couldn't move. She turned to Asaka and Kamidake. They had appeared at the same time as Tenchi. "Hey, stop standing there and go help Tenchi!" she shouted at them.

            "We can't," Asaka said, his voice strained.

            "We are using all our energy just to counteract Kagato's forces," Kamidake said, his voice similarly strained.

            Kagato approached Tenchi. Tenchi tried to swing his sword at him, but the blade wouldn't appear. Kagato grabbed his arm and held him up.

            "Your sword isn't helping you now, Tenchi," he said. "If only you had left these women behind, you could have remained alive."

            "I would rather die," Tenchi said struggling, "than forsake any one of them."

            Kagato laughed, casting Tenchi aside into another pillar. "Oh, that's alright with me because I have all the gems," he said.

            Electricity crackled up from the floor towards Ryoko's gem in her wrist, and the other two in Tenchi's sword.

            "Marvellous power!" Kagato shouted. "Splendid! Come to me now, Tsunami!" He turned towards the other ship, and watched it slowly drift towards the Soja.

            "It can't be over already," Tenchi said. "I'm sorry, everyone. I'm sorry to have failed you."

            Then he remembered his conversation with Tsunami. "Tenchi, do not rely on the sword alone. You must trust in your own power."

            Tenchi gripped his sword more tightly. "I have been relying on this sword too much," he said. He stood up.

            Kagato caught sight of him and turned to face Tenchi. "How can you have any power left?" he said. "No matter. I was going to finish you later, but why not now?"

            Tenchi threw his sword away.

            "So, you're giving up?" Kagato asked, surprised.

            "Tenchi, run! Get away!" Ryoko yelled. She struggled towards him but collapsed. "No, please. You've got everything you want. Please, spare him," she whispered.

            "Can this boy really mean that much to you?" Kagato asked. "Don't worry. Very soon you and princess Ayeka will join him. Very soon indeed. You won't be alone in death."

            Ryoko screamed as Kagato formed an energy attack in his hand. Tenchi just stood there, engrossed in his own thoughts.

            I should trust in my power, Tenchi thought. But how? What can I do? I have no powers I can use.

            He looked up at the energy blast heading straight for him.

--------------------

            The explosion completely destroyed the pillar Tenchi was standing in front of. Kagato turned to face Ryoko.

            "Now it's your turn," he said.

            Three beams of light appeared in the dust cloud where Tenchi was, splayed out in front of him.

            "What?" Kagato exclaimed. "Impossible! I thought the power from Tsunami was completely cut off!"

            Tenchi raised his arms and let the top two wings pass through him, changing his clothing. It was now mostly pink and white, with two bands of cloth going back around his shoulders. The third wing rose up. Tenchi grabbed it with his right hand, and it changed into a sword.

--------------------

            "The transformation of objects!" Washu exclaimed. "The wings of the Light Hawk! Unbelievable!"

--------------------

            "It's you!" Kagato shouted. "You! You're creating all this!"

            Kagato shot a beam of energy at Tenchi. Tenchi raised his left arm, and a light shield appeared on it, deflecting the blast.

            Kagato summoned six large blue crystals, like the ones in Ryo-Ohki, through the floor. "Get him!" Kagato ordered.

            Tenchi's sword transformed into a bent blue beam, which he threw at the crystals, destroying them. Kagato charged forwards through the smoke, his sword in hand.

            "I have you now," he said.

            Tenchi raised his arm with the shield, and grabbed the end of it. The light shield transformed into another sword. He leapt forwards as well.

            A flash of light spread out as the two collided. When it dissipated, the two fighters were standing apart, facing away from each other, in a stance suggesting that they had just swung their sword.

            A slash mark appeared across Tenchi's chest, from his side to the opposing shoulder. It disappeared.

            Kagato stood up and turned around. "Tenchi," he said quietly. "Same name as the Master Key. Well done Tsunami. Tenchi cannot be copied. Splendid."

            Tenchi turned round to face Kagato.

            "You've won, boy," Kagato said. A slash appeared across his chest, before spreading, destroying him.

--------------------

            Later, on Earth, everyone was relaxing. After defeating the eternally most wanted criminal and destroying the Soja, they had decided that what they needed was a break. So there they were.

            Washu had invited herself to live with Tenchi, and had converted an old cupboard under the stairs into a dimensional portal that led to her laboratory. The lab itself spanned an area of about five Earths. She stayed there for a while, probably sorting out her things.

            Ryoko was resting. She lay on the couch, regaining her strength from the fight she was in. Ryo-Ohki lay next to her, also regaining strength. She had been hit several times by the Soja quite hard.

            Sasami was tending to the two injured people. Mihoshi had also tried to help with this, but ended up setting fire to the wet towels somehow, so she was now wandering around aimlessly.

            Ayeka was troubled. She was forgetting something, but she didn't know what. Every time she came close to remembering what it was, she lost her trail of thought, thinking instead about how Tenchi had defeated Kagato.

            Tenchi was also thinking. Was this Washu person the same Washu that Tokemi had told him about? And how would using his Juraian powers affect him? At least he hadn't used his Saiyan powers, which was good, even though he had sorely been tempted.

            Ayeka stiffened as she remembered. She leapt to her feet and shouted.

            "My family!" she said. "Kagato said he'd locked them up somewhere. We must go and rescue them!"

----------------------------------------------------------------------

In the next episode of Continuum T:

            Tenchi and his friends set off to Jurai, in order to release the Royal Family. Tenchi will learn many new things in "Journey". Is Washu indeed the goddess Washu, symbolic of the mind of all living beings? Where is the Jurai Royal Family being held captive? And what is this strange television programme, 'Tenchi Muyo!'? Find out in the next episode of Continuum T.


	6. Journey

Previously on Continuum T:

            Kagato, the eternally most wanted criminal in the galaxy, was defeated by the mysterious Juraian powers wielded by Tenchi. Washu had joined the household, a mysterious young girl with a doubtless complicated past. Now that the Soja was destroyed, Tenchi and the girls set a course for the planet Jurai, flying there in Ryo-Ohki. The journey's going to take a while, so this is going to be an information episode, okay?

----------------------------------------------------------------------

            Continuum T, Part VI – Journey

----------------------------------------------------------------------

            The impossibly large nothing sparkled in places where the void was broken by large balls of fusing hydrogen. Nearby, a small asteroid of a planet floated in space, simultaneously orbiting and being orbited by another one of half its size. These were the twin planets of Pluto and Charon.

            Near to these was a small spiked object, travelling relatively slowly to the former of these planets. Projecting out from a central red core were four large spikes equidistant from each other, pointing up in the upper hemisphere. Pointing down in the middle of the bottom hemisphere was a smaller spike, like a large diamond. Around this were several smaller points, reaching towards the middle one. They were all black. It was the ship Ryo-Ohki.

            Tenchi stood and stared out of a viewing portal at the nearby planets. He was fully aware that he was the first Earthling to have come out this far from his home planet, with the exception of his great-grandmother.

            Tenchi's great-grandmother, Funaho, had fallen in love with the Emperor of Jurai while he was temporarily on Earth. The Emperor had taken her back with him to Jurai, where she became Empress, along with the Emperor's other wife Misaki. When Funaho's son, Yosho, left to pursue the villain Ryoko when she had attacked the planet Jurai seven hundred years ago, and had crashed his ship onto the planet Earth, creating the crater for the lake now in front of the Masaki household, he adopted the family name Masaki, in remembrance of his past and his mother-in-law. Much later, he met Tenchi's grandmother, and later had a daughter, Tenchi's mother.

            Mihoshi walked up behind Tenchi, and rested her hand on his shoulder. Tenchi jumped, before realising who it was, and calmed down.

            "How are you doing, Tenchi?" Mihoshi asked.

            "Alright, thanks Mihoshi," Tenchi replied. "It's just that I'm the first person from my planet to have seen Pluto with my own eyes. I didn't realise its moon was so big."

            "That's no moon," Mihoshi said. "Pluto and Charon are twin planets."

            "Really?"

            "Uh huh. My Galaxy Police Outpost is actually on the bigger planet Pluto." She pointed it out.

            "Oh wow," Tenchi said. He could just make out a small dome and a spaceship on the surface.

            "Yukinojo's broken, though, so I can't fly him to Jurai."

            "Yukinojo is your spaceship?" Tenchi guessed.

            Mihoshi nodded. "I can't sent my report to my grandfather because he's broken, so I have to travel with you to get there."

            "Your grandfather?"

            "Yes. My grandfather is the Head of the Galaxy Police."

            "Really?"

            They looked out for a while. Pluto rotated slowly around Charon, and Charon orbited its larger sister planet.

            "Hey everyone!" Sasami's voice called out from the speakers around the ship. "Dinner's ready!"

            "We'd better go then," Tenchi said. They started to walk off.

            A small rumble spread throughout the ship as Ryo-Ohki prepared for the jump to hyper-light speed. Mihoshi slipped and fell. Tenchi grabbed her, and helped her back to her feet.

            "Oh, thank you, Tenchi," Mihoshi said.

            "You're welcome."

--------------------

            Ryo-Ohki was a big ship, doubtless because of all the carrots she had been eating. She had a lot of empty space below her control level, so Washu had took it upon herself to redesign it into an exact replica of the house they all lived in. She had used what she called a hyper-dimensional computer to change the layout of the place.

            Everyone gathered to eat, and then they went to watch television. There wasn't much on, but there wasn't much to do, floating through space beyond Tenchi's home solar system, and any distractions were welcome.

            Nothing of any interest was on any of the channels, so everyone talked while Mihoshi idly scrolled through the stations.

            "Hey, wow," Mihoshi exclaimed. "What's this?"

            Everyone turned to look. A programme had just started. It looked like a cartoon. It showed space.

            "Mihoshi, what is this?" Sasami asked.

            They watched it for a minute, until one of the characters was shown. Ryoko shouted. It was her.

            Another one appeared. Ayeka.

            They continued to watch, as an animé version of the recent fight with Kagato was shown.

--------------------

            The show finished. It had been remarkably accurate about the events on board the Soja. Not only that, the characters seemed to directly relate to the people they represented.

            Washu summoned a translucent laptop computer and begun tapping it, while the others watched the credits scroll past.

            "Hey," said Tenchi. "The copyright on that was fifteen years ago. That show was made at least that long ago."

            "Got it," Washu said. She tapped something and a large screen appeared, displaying lots of information about the show. "It's called 'Tenchi Muyo!'. It's a Japanese animation about five alien girls who come to live with Tenchi at his house. They fight an evil villain, Kagato, and defeat him. And that's just the first six episodes."

            "You mean there's more?" Ayeka asked.

            "Oh yes. Another seven episodes of 'Tenchi Muyo!', dealing with a Dr Clay and his creation Zero, and then there's a whole load of episodes as a kind of offshoot of this series."

            "But how is this possible?" Tenchi asked. "It was made fifteen years before those things happened."

            "It's a coincidence," Washu said. "That's all."

            "But how can it be a coincidence?" Ryoko asked. "It's just too accurate."

            "Ever heard of unconscious displaced memory?" Washu asked. Everyone shook their heads. "Basically it's a subconscious message to your brain about something that's happened or will happen. It's most commonly called inspiration, but what it really is is an event or series of events that are transmitted as a thought to a person. They just think that they've suddenly come up with an idea, and go on to develop it, but then they're amazed that what they thought comes true or has come true."

            The others didn't follow this.

            "So what is it?" Mihoshi asked.

            "Are you really this stupid?" Washu asked.

            "Hey! I'm not stupid," Mihoshi said. "I just take a while to catch on to something."

            "Alright," Washu sighed. "I'll try and explain it so you can understand. It's a coincidence. It's a special thing whereby someone thinks of something. They don't know how or why they thought of it, but they have. It's most commonly foresight, seeing things that are going to happen, but they don't realise it. Obviously this person thought of all this about Kagato and us, and turned it into a cartoon, without realising that it would actually happen. However, either he forgot some bits, or didn't think of them, because that show isn't exactly like what has actually happened. You understand?"

            "Possibly," Mihoshi mused.

            "I don't care, anyway," Washu said. "Tenchi, can I see you for a minute in my lab?"

            "Sure, Washu," Tenchi said, getting up.

            "That's Little Washu to you," Washu said. "And that goes for all of you, too. You all have to call me Washu-chan from now on, or I'll drop something heavy on you."

            "No way," Ryoko said. "You're my mom. I'm not calling you that, Washu."

            "To show you what I mean, I'll demonstrate on Ryoko," Washu said. Above Ryoko a stone statue appeared, shaped and sized like a garden gnome. It fell on Ryoko, dazing her.

            "Now you all call me Little Washu, or the statues will get bigger."

            With that, Washu turned and went through the door under the stairs to her lab. Tenchi shortly followed her. Washu turned to face him.

            "I've heard quite a bit about you, Tenchi," she said. "I know more about you than you think I do."

            "Like what?" Tenchi asked.

            "Well, for one, I know that you fought someone called Sel," Washu said. "I also know how you defeated him."

            "What are you talking about?"

            "Your Saiyan powers, specifically your ability to do what no-one else can."

            "Which is..."

            "Your transformation into a Super Saiyan," Washu said. "The gold hair, the green eyes. I know all about what you have achieved."

            "How do you know all this?" Tenchi asked. "Wait. Is it because you're a goddess?"

            "Excuse me?"

            "Are you the goddess Washu, representative of the mind of all living beings?" Tenchi asked.

            "Well, I've often been called a goddess, yes," Washu grinned. "But yes. I am the goddess Washu. Or at least, I used to be."

            "What does that mean?"

            "I renounced my powers, sealing them into three small red gems. Two of those are currently in your sword hilt, Tenchi."

            "And Ryoko has the third?"

            "That's right," said Washu.

            "But why did you renounce your powers?" asked Tenchi.

            "Why did you renounce yours?" was the reply.

            Tenchi paused. "I couldn't use them any more," he said. "They evoke darkness inside me, and I can't let it control me."

            "A sensible choice," Washu said. "And I see you stick by it, even though Kagato could have killed you."

            "Well, I'd appreciate it if you didn't tell the others. Besides, now that I have my Juraian powers, I don't need to become a Saiyan again."

            "Maybe not. Maybe you will. Only the future knows your fate."

            Washu turned to one of her floating laptops and started typing in commands. A large metal bed appeared in front of Tenchi. It looked a lot like an operating table.

            "Now, if you don't mind, I want to collect some samples," Washu said.

            "Samples? What kind of samples?" Tenchi asked nervously.

            Washu grinned. "You'll see."

--------------------

            Tenchi came running out of the lab about two minutes later, carrying his shirt and footwear as he went. He wouldn't go back into Washu's lab in a hurry.

--------------------

            The journey to Jurai was now well underway. Since the planet was pretty much on the opposite side of the galaxy, Ryo-Ohki would have to fly non-stop for several days to get there. Currently they had been going for a day, with an estimated three days still to go.

--------------------

            A couple more episodes of 'Tenchi Muyo!' had been on, and at the moment they were watching another one. It featured around Tenchi having to take care of his aunt's baby for a while. Near the end, the animé Washu revealed a bit about her past, about how she had had a baby herself, but it was taken away from her.

            While they were watching this, Tenchi looked over at Washu. Washu was sitting rigidly, a slight frown on her face. As soon as the episode finished, Washu went straight to her lab.

            Tenchi was concerned for her, so cautiously went up to the door and knocked on it. Washu called from inside that it was open, so Tenchi went in.

            "Oh, hi Tenchi," Washu said. "What can I do for you?"

            "Actually, I came to see if there was anything I could do for you," Tenchi replied.

            "What do you mean? Are you talking about a sample?"

            "No, not that," Tenchi said hastily. "I mean about the 'Tenchi Muyo!' that was just on."

            "That? I told you before, it's just a coincidence. Come back when you're ready for that sample retrieval."

            "Washu, I'm serious."

            A small stone statue fell on Tenchi's head, dazing him slightly.

            "Washu, stop that."

            A larger statue fell on his head. If it wasn't for Tenchi's strength, he would probably have been knocked out.

            "Stop it now, Washu."

            Tenchi raised an arm and hit the large statue above him away, something impossible for a normal person.

            "You did have a baby, didn't you, Washu?" Tenchi asked.

            No statue fell this time.

            "Yes, I did." Washu walked up to a chair and sat down. "It was about a thousand years ago, before I created Ryoko or the Soja, before I was kidnapped by Kagato. I was doing well. I had a great husband, handsome, intelligent. I had an older body to this one, my adult form. Since I had renounced my powers a couple of millennia previously, I was human. I had a child with my husband. She was the most beautiful little thing."

            "Yes?" Tenchi said. He sat down on the desk next to Washu.

            "Shortly after she was born, I told my husband who I was. He didn't take it well. He took the baby and divorced me. I was thrown off the planet, and told never to return. I was shunned wherever I went, and my only escape was in here, my lab. I concentrated more on science, almost entirely, and changed my physical form. I figured that if adults had to cope with this kind of thing all the time, then I might as well not be one."

            "So that's why you only look twelve?" Tenchi asked.

            "Yes."

            "What happened to your baby?"

            Washu sagged her head. A tear fell onto her dress.

            "I'm sorry. I didn't mean..."

            "That's alright," Washu replied. She took a deep breath and sat up. "My baby was taken away and put into an orphanage. My ex-husband didn't want anything to do with me or my child. A month later, my baby died. Her carer had locked her away and didn't feed her. She starved to death."

            "Oh my god. I'm so sorry," Tenchi whispered.

            "The carer was charged with murder, and was put into a correctional institute for the rest of his life. He killed himself shortly after the trial."

            "Washu, I'm sorry."

            Washu reached forwards and opened a drawer on her desk. She pulled out a picture.

            "This is the only picture I have of her." She gave it to Tenchi. It was an adult Washu, looking very beautiful, holding a baby.

            "She's very beautiful," Tenchi said. "And so are you."

            "I know," Washu whispered, tears welling up in her eyes. She started to cry.

            Tenchi stood up and hugged her, comforting her. Washu sobbed into his chest. After five minutes, Washu pulled away from him.

            "It's silly, really," she said, drying her eyes. "It all happened so long ago. I should have gotten over it by now."

            "It's not silly at all. It shows that you really cared for them, to be sad for so long afterwards. He must have been a really great guy."

            "He was."

            "Look, don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened, okay?"

            Washu smiled. "I guess so. You know, I've kept to myself ever since what happened. I've just been waiting for the right guy. And now I think I've found you."

            In the animé series, Tenchi would have probably turned to stone, or had his eyes grow really big, but Tenchi made do with just standing there.

            "Tenchi, I know my daughter and Ayeka are after you as well. Just think about it, okay?"

            Tenchi nodded dumbly.

            "I don't know. Maybe it's because you're so sensitive and caring, coming down here, especially after last time. Or maybe it's something else. Whatever it is, I wouldn't mind at all spending my time with you."

            "Does this mean that you're going to give up trying for those samples?" Tenchi asked hopefully, trying to turn this in his favour.

            "Don't be an idiot all your life," Washu laughed. "Of course the collections are still going to go on. I need all this data for research."

            "Researching what?"

            "Just in general. Now are you going to cooperate, or do I have to tie you up again?"

--------------------

            Tenchi came running out of the lab about two minutes later, carrying his shirt and footwear as he went, as he had done the previous day. That was the last time he would go in there at all.

            He bumped into Mihoshi on his way to his room.

            "Oh, sorry Tenchi," Mihoshi said. "Tenchi, why have you taken some of your clothes off?"

            "Uh, I felt hot," Tenchi said. "If you'll excuse me, I need to get to my room."

            He dashed off.

            Mihoshi went downstairs, to find Ryoko and Ayeka arguing as usual.

            "What are you fighting about now, you guys?" she asked.

            "Never you mind," Ayeka and Ryoko growled.

            "Well, as long as it's not Tenchi. I just saw him coming out of Little Washu's lab wearing hardly anything. Boy, that would really be awkward if you were fighting over him, now, wouldn't it?"

            It would.

--------------------

            Two days later, and Tenchi had kept true to his word. He hadn't gone anywhere near Washu's lab. He was too busy trying to explain away the last time he went in there.

            As it happened, they were approaching the core of Juraian territory, a sphere about a thousand light years across, with Jurai at the centre. Direct communications were now possible with the planet, and also with the Galaxy Police Headquarters.

--------------------

            Mihoshi went to the control room of Ryo-Ohki. She was going to ask if she could report in to the Galaxy Police and tell them what happened concerning Kagato. She appeared in the middle of the room. Ryoko was wandering around, pressing the odd panel. She wasn't really doing much.

            "Umm, Ryoko?" Mihoshi asked.

            "What is it?" Ryoko replied.

            "I was wondering if it would be possible for me to talk to the Galaxy Police, so I can give them my report."

            "What?" Ryoko exclaimed. "The Galaxy Police? Both Ryo-Ohki and I are wanted criminals. It wouldn't be a good idea to start talking to the GXP Headquarters, now would it?"

            "But it'll be all right if I explain everything," Mihoshi said. "Please?"

            "Oh, go on then. Use this control crystal." Ryoko pointed towards one. It drifted over towards Mihoshi.

            "Oh, thank you Ryoko. Now how do I use this?"

            "My mom designed and created Ryo-Ohki to be foolproof. In fact, she designed it for me." Ryoko hesitated. "Just use it. I'm going for a little talk with Washu. Chan," She added, just before a garden ornament landed on her head. It disappeared. Ryoko phased away.

            Mihoshi turned to the crystal. She tapped it, and it started glowing in places, like a control station. She pressed a button at random.

            Ryo-Ohki gave an angry "Myah!", and a screen appeared, with 'Don't press that again!' printed on it.

            "Oh, okay then," Mihoshi said. "But can you open a communications channel with the Galaxy Police Headquarters, please? Ryoko said it was okay."

            "Myah."

            A large screen appeared. A man was on it, wearing a Galaxy Police uniform. He was just a call director, and asked whom he should put Mihoshi through to.

            "Can you let me talk to the Head of the GXP, please?" Mihoshi asked. She wanted to speak to her grandfather.

            "I'm sorry, but the Marshall is unavailable at the moment. I'll direct you to the acting Marshall instead."

            The scene changed and showed another man. Or at least, he should be a man. He was actually a humanoid creature, not a human. He looked kind of like a bear or a sloth, if either of these was ever crossed with a human and stuck into a GXP uniform. He was drinking coffee.

            "Hi sir," Mihoshi said. She saluted. "This is Detective First Class Mihoshi reporting in on behalf of planetary system 485526."

            The acting Marshall choked on his coffee and spat it out across the desk.

            "Mihoshi, it's you," he said, wiping his mouth with the nearest piece of paper, which just so happened to be a bill. "What are you doing?"

            "I'm reporting in, sir," Mihoshi replied, still smiling. "I'm sorry it's overdue, but Yukinojo kind of crashed a bit."

            "Crashed a bit?" The acting Marshall was dubious. He knew all about Mihoshi's tendency to mangle nearly everything she touched. In fact, the soggy bill he was holding was for a piece of equipment Mihoshi had broken.

            "There I was, just cruising around, when this planet appeared right in front of me. Luckily I missed the Outpost, but Yukinojo's communications array was broken in the collision."

            "So how are you talking to me, then?"

            "Oh, I'm using Ryo-Ohki to send this message."

            "You mean, the criminal space battle cruiser Ryo-Ohki? Wanted for countless acts of destruction against Juraian territory Ryo-Ohki?"

            "That's right. Ryoko said I could."

            "Ryoko's back as well?"

            "Don't worry. It's all in my report."

--------------------

            And it was. The report was very thorough indeed, almost down to each individual event.

            The acting Marshall sighed as he finished the report. He looked up at the screen. Mihoshi was waiting patiently for a response, smiling unnervingly.

            "Yes, well, it all seems to be here," he said. "You can go now, Mihoshi. I'll take care of the Royal Family. I'll see to it that they're freed."

            "Before I go, can I ask a question?"

            "Sure, go ahead," the Marshall sighed.

            "Where is my grandfather? I wanted to talk to him."

            The Marshal went even more silent than before. He glanced around the desk, trying to think of how he could phrase this.

            "Is he away on business? When is he coming back?" Mihoshi asked.

            "Mihoshi, I don't know how to tell you this, but I'll try. I know this will be hard on you, but..." He tailed off.

            "But what?"

            "Mihoshi, your grandfather is dead," the acting Marshall said quietly. "He passed two days ago. I'm sorry."

            "He's dead?" Mihoshi asked in disbelief.

            "I'm afraid so. We tried to contact you, but as you said, Yukinojo is broken. We didn't know where you were until now."

            Mihoshi started to shudder.

            "Mihoshi, I'm so sorry."

            The detective collapsed onto the floor, gasping for breath.

            Tenchi appeared in the middle of the room.

            "Mihoshi, I've been looking for... Mihoshi, are you alright?" Tenchi hurried towards her. He looked up at the man on screen.

            "You must be Tenchi, right?" the Marshall said.

            "What happened to Mihoshi?" Tenchi demanded.

            "She's just found out that her grandfather is dead," the man said. "I'm sorry. Please tell her to meet me when you get to Jurai."

            The screen disappeared.

            Tenchi clutched Mihoshi tightly.

            "Mihoshi, I'm sorry," he whispered.

            Mihoshi said nothing. She just cried into his shoulder.

--------------------

            Mihoshi sniffed. Tenchi had taken her to her room, and had taken care of her. She was lying on her bed, Tenchi sitting next to her. She had been crying for the best part of an hour.

            Mihoshi stirred and sat up. She looked at Tenchi.

            "Thanks Tenchi," she whispered.

            "Anything for you, Mihoshi," Tenchi smiled. "It's no trouble."

            "Tenchi, promise me you won't let anything bad happen to me." Mihoshi was obviously face to face with her own mortality at the moment.

            "I'll protect you with my life," Tenchi replied. "I promise."

            Mihoshi moved forwards and lay on his lap.

            "I trust you," she said quietly. "Please, hold me."

            Tenchi did so, lifting her up so they were staring at each other. After a moment Mihoshi moved forwards to kiss him. Tenchi just stayed still as he watched Mihoshi approach. The woman came nearer, her eyes closing, and sagged onto Tenchi's shoulder, sound asleep.

            Tenchi hugged her, then gently lay her down on her bed and pulled a sheet over her.

            "Sleep well, Mihoshi," Tenchi whispered, before leaving.

--------------------

            They arrived at the planet Jurai early the next day. The blue and green globe floated in space, orbited by two bands of rock, each crossing the other at two points. They floated perpendicular to each other, crossed above the equator on opposite sides.

            Ryo-Ohki orbited the dark side of the planet. Below was a circle of blackness surrounded by a thin ring of light. Occasional glints of light flashed from the ice rocks in orbit around the sides.

            The circle of light faded around one side, as the opposite side grew brighter. The sun was rising on the darkness. The haziness of the light diminished as the atmosphere thinned, and suddenly a bright spark appeared as the sun moved into direct line of sight. The rest of the ring of light instantly faded, as the spark grew bigger, surrounded by the twinkling of refracted light through the ice.

            As the light spread across the land, it also caught a large structure floating in space. It seemed a rather haphazard display of rings around a long pole, intermeshed with webbing of development. It was the Galaxy Police Headquarters.

            Ryo-Ohki moved into the docking bay and connected to the station. Everyone disembarked, and the airlock was shut. Ryo-Ohki shrunk and transformed back into her cabbit form. Ryoko appeared next to her and grabbed her, before disappearing again.

--------------------

            "Welcome to the Galaxy Police Headquarters, Lady Ayeka," the Marshall said, bowing deeply. "And Lady Sasami too, welcome. It has been a long time since you left."

            Ayeka nodded her head. Sasami just waved. The others, including the recently returned Ryoko, just stood there, not sure of what to do.

            "I'm sure you'll be glad to know that we have located the rest of your family," the Marshall continued. "They are doing well. However..."

            "They're still trapped, aren't they?" Tenchi asked.

            The Marshall and the others were taken aback by his remark. The Marshall cleared his throat.

            "Well, yes, that is correct, Mr Masaki," the Marshall said. "Unfortunately there are several tens of forcefields barricading them in. We have our finest technicians at work, but Kagato designed them very well."

            "Kagato?" Washu said. "Kagato couldn't design a paper bag. Let me have a go with them. I'm sure I can break them all and be back in time for dinner."

            "You are Washu, yes?" the Marshall said, shouting when a small stone statue fell on his head.

            "That's Little Washu to you," the red haired maniac said. "Everyone else calls me that."

            "Everyone else has to call you that," Ryoko muttered.

            "What was that, daughter?"

            "Nothing, mom."

            The Marshall looked on at this conversation in bewilderment. Mihoshi spoke up.

            "Sir, about my grandfather," she said, maintaining her stance.

            "Oh, yes, of course." The Marshall looked around and called over three people. "You lot take care of these people," he told them. He turned to Mihoshi. "Mihoshi, please come to my office."

            Mihoshi moved to follow, but her hand was caught on something. She turned to see Tenchi holding it.

            "If you don't mind, I'd like to come with you," he said.

            Mihoshi nodded, and they walked off, still holding hands.

            The others hadn't been told about the recent death, although that wouldn't have mattered anyway. It took the three guides and several bystanders to restrain the first princess and the space pirate as they tried desperately to get to Tenchi, and to get him away from Mihoshi. They were politely but firmly pushed towards a transport to the planet.

--------------------

            Preparations had been made for the late Marshall's funeral. It was to be held the next day on board the station, where his body would be jettisoned into orbit.

            Mihoshi and Tenchi were on Jurai, walking down a road towards the Imperial Palace, home of the Royal Family.

            "Are you alright, Mihoshi?" Tenchi asked.

            "I'm fine," she replied. "I'm sorry about last night."

            "What?"

            "About the kiss. I shouldn't have asked. I'm sorry."

            "No, that's alright. You were just lonely, I expect. It's only natural to want to be close to someone when a relative dies."

            "How do you know?"

            "You know my father and grampa. They're my only living relatives. Well, not including Ayeka and the Royal Family of Jurai. My other grandparents died when I was very young. I never knew them. My mother died about three months before you showed up on Earth. I know what it's like to lose someone you love."

            "I'm sorry, Tenchi."

            "Me too. I guess everyone's sorry then."

            Mihoshi giggled. "There's a lot of that going around at the moment."

            Tenchi smiled. "See, I knew I could get you to laugh."

            Mihoshi giggled again.

            "Come on," Tenchi said. "Let's go find the others."

--------------------

            They found the others in the Throne Room of the Imperial Palace. It was a huge room, the ceiling receding into darkness, despite the enormously long windows around the walls. Where there wasn't a window, there was a painting. They were of previous Emperors and Empresses of Jurai, each one dressed in the most formal clothing of the time.

            At the far end of the room were three big thrones, five times as high as a person. A person sat on each one. On the left was a gentle looking woman with green hair and two green round gems on her forehead. She was Misaki, mother of Ayeka and Sasami. In the middle was the Emperor. He had a beard, purple hair and a serious look on his face. On the right was another woman, this one with black hair. She was Funaho, Yosho's mother and Tenchi's great-grandmother. They all wore formal Juraian robes.

            Ryoko, Ayeka, Sasami and Washu stood in front on the thrones. The Emperor was talking to them. Tenchi and Mihoshi approached them.

            "Who are you to interrupt a private conversation between myself and my daughters?" the Emperor asked them.

            "I am Detective First Class Mihoshi, sir," the blonde said, saluting him.

            "I'm Tenchi Masaki," Tenchi said. "I would be your great-grandson."

            "Oh. Well, on behalf of Jurai, I thank you for destroying Kagato," the Emperor said.

            "And for taking care of your daughters for the past few months, I assume," Tenchi replied.

            "Tenchi!" Ayeka hissed.

            "You shouldn't speak to daddy like that," Sasami whispered.

            "Sorry," Tenchi apologised. "I'm just not used to being around royalty."

            First impressions are always very important. And Tenchi's first impression of the Emperor was not a good one. He thought him to be obnoxious and rude, all but corrupted by the power he had, making him arrogant and feel superior.

            "Anyway," the Emperor continued, "you're just in time to hear my decisions. Firstly, because of her bravery and reformation, I have removed all charges from Ryoko, and destroyed her criminal status. She is now a normal citizen of the galaxy."

            "Great," Ryoko said, not too enthusiastically.

            "Congratulations Ryoko," Tenchi said.

            "Secondly, although he has learnt things which he should never know, such as our existence, I shall let Tenchi Masaki retain his memories, and offer him residence here for as long as he deems suitable."

            "It's rude to refer to someone in the third person," Tenchi muttered under his breath. "Thank you, sir," he said, bowing slightly.

            "And lastly, Galaxy Police officer Mihoshi will be promoted to Detective Inspector First Class, for her outstanding work in helping to defeat Kagato."

            "Well done, Mihoshi," Sasami said.

            "Yes, congratulations," Tenchi said.

            "Oh wow, thank you Emperor," Mihoshi said, bowing deeply.

            "Now, if that is all, Ayeka and I have things to discuss," the Emperor said.

            "Excuse me, but what kind of things?" Tenchi asked. "She's just come back. I think she deserves a rest."

            "Well, if it's any of your business, which it isn't, Ayeka and I are going to discuss her suitors. And as for rest, she's been on a holiday for the past several months. She needs to choose a husband I have selected for her soon, in preparation for her succession to the throne."

            "Sorry, but fighting Kagato was hardly a picnic," Tenchi said. "And why should she have to choose from some people you pick out for her?"

            "You are a very arrogant person, Tenchi," the Emperor said. "You come here with no understanding of our ways, the ways which have kept our Empire stable for thousands of years, and you question everything we do. You are a very small minded individual."

            "Maybe so, but if Ayeka's going to marry this person, then maybe she should marry someone she truly likes?"

            "It is her duty to help retain the stability of the galaxy," the Emperor said, now visibly becoming very angry. "She will do as she is told."

            "Then that isn't fair. You're treating her as if she's just an object to be given to someone like a donation, just to satisfy your will."

            "Life is not fair, Mr Masaki," the Emperor said slowly. "That is one of the things you must learn, if you want to stay here. You should accept our way of living, instead of doubting our traditions."

            The Emperor was near boiling point, and everyone knew it. They could tell from his tone and the way he addressed Tenchi as 'Mr Masaki'. Tenchi carried on anyway.

            "Respect for something and acceptance of something are two completely different things," he argued. "I respect your way of life, but I cannot accept it. I will not allow you to do this to Ayeka." He moved in front of the princess and spread his arms.

            The room went even more silent, as everyone but Tenchi and the Emperor watched the events happening in astonishment. They simply could not believe that someone was standing up to the ruler of the galaxy.

            The Emperor gazed coldly into Tenchi's solemn eyes.

            "So be it," he said quietly. "You have defied me for the last time, Tenchi Masaki. Your manner suggests you want a fight, so I will give you one. Seriyo!" he called.

            A man entered through a side door. He was quite handsome, if not for the irregular pink hair on his head. He lifted his arm from his cloak. He was holding a sword hilt, like Tenchi's.

            "This is Seriyo," the Emperor introduced. "He will be your opponent. He is one of the strongest warriors on this planet, and he will not go easy on you." He glared at Tenchi. "You may concede now, if you want, provided you cease insulting my kingdom."

            "I will not back down as long as you continue to treat Ayeka like this," Tenchi said, pulling out his sword, the Master Key.

            "So you are Tenchi," Seriyo said. "A pleasure to meet you. This is nothing personal, but Lady Ayeka's honour must be defended."

            "Tenchi, don't," Ayeka said, grabbing his arm. "Don't do anything foolish because of me. I don't want you to get hurt."

            "Would you rather marry this guy?" Tenchi asked.

            Ayeka remained silent.

            "Alright then." Tenchi removed his arm from the princess and walked towards the middle of the room, along with Seriyo.

            "Bring it."

            "Don't you worry. Soon you won't be doing anything any more," Seriyo said.

            "This is a duel to the death," the Emperor said.

            "What?" Tenchi exclaimed. "But I'm your great-grandson!"

            Seriyo lunged forwards while Tenchi was distracted. A large yellow blade appeared on his sword. Tenchi stepped back and activated his sword, a thin blue blade.

            "If that's the best you can do," Seriyo called, "better just to give up now."

            Seriyo swung. Tenchi blocked his attack, causing green sparks to appear between the swords. The force of the attack sent Tenchi stumbling backwards several metres. He regained his posture and held his sword down by his side. The red gems on the hilt started to glow, and the blade changed colour to purple.

            "Even with the Master Key you won't be able to defeat me," Seriyo laughed. "I have far more battle experience than you."

            "Pinkie, you have no idea," Tenchi said quietly. He held his sword backwards with his right hand, pointing it down behind him, and raised his left hand into a fighting position, fingers clawed slightly towards Seriyo. He rotated his hand so his palm was face up, and gestured for him to attack.

            Seriyo leapt towards Tenchi from his position, swinging his sword from above his head. Tenchi maintained his stance. The yellow blade struck a small energy barrier above Tenchi's head. Tenchi whipped his sword round and swung it straight through the hilt. Seriyo's hilt broke in two, the blade instantly dissipating, and the two halves clattered on the floor. Tenchi raised his sword above his head, pointing it at Seriyo. His left arm followed the blade's direction.

            Seriyo just stood there, staring at his sword lying broken on the floor, whimpering slightly. The others were also staring, even the Emperor. The Emperor could not believe that the best warrior on the planet had been beaten so easily, especially by a boy from some far-flung planet on the other side of the galaxy.

            "Do you want to continue, or do you just want to give up now?" Tenchi asked. "Oh, sorry about your sword, by the way."

            "This is a duel to the death," Seriyo said shakily. "I have lost fairly, and I am ready to accept the end." He stood upright and closed his eyes.

            Tenchi held his sword against Seriyo's neck, only just missing it. He held it there for a moment. Seriyo opened his eyes slightly, to see why he wasn't dead yet. The blade on Tenchi's sword dissipated, and Tenchi put his sword away.

            "I don't kill," Tenchi said. "Not any more."

            He turned and walked towards the Emperor.

            "I've effectively defeated your strongest warrior," Tenchi said to him. "Your Seriyo guy can get himself a new sword, right?"

            "My, that was over fast," Ayeka said.

            "That was most impressive, Tenchi," the Emperor said.

            "Because if he wants he can have this sword," Tenchi offered.

            "No, that won't be necessary," the Emperor said. "But I see that you do care a lot for my daughter."

            "Both of them," Tenchi said. "And all my other friends."

            "Right. You have proven yourself to be an honourable member of the Royal Family of Jurai, and owing to this recent occurrence, I have decided to change my mind. Instead of resuming my daughter's training, I have decided to allow her an extended holiday. She has one year, to do with as she pleases, but at the end of that time she must be back here on Jurai, ready to marry her suitor."

            "Oh, thank you daddy!" Ayeka said, hugging him tightly.

            "On one condition," the Emperor said. "You take good care of my daughter, my son."

            "Actually, I think Sasami wants to come back too," Tenchi said. Sasami was nodding eagerly. "Don't worry, great-grampa. I'll take care of them. I promise."

--------------------

            They stayed on Jurai for a few days, at Tenchi's request. On the third day of their visit, Tenchi and Mihoshi went to her grandfather's funeral. It was a sad occasion, but Tenchi was there to help Mihoshi through it, and for that she was truly grateful. She had actually started to love Tenchi back on Earth, and the way he was helping her encouraged this love a lot. She actually said so as they were walking back to the Imperial Palace. Tenchi actually took it surprisingly well, despite his very unique situation.

            "Mihoshi, I don't want to upset you, but at least three other girls also feel the same way about me as you do," Tenchi said. "At the moment I'm not ready for anything like that. Maybe all I need is time, but before that we can still be friends, right?"

            Mihoshi was disappointed, but understood. "Sure thing, Tenchi!" she said, masking her sadness.

--------------------

            They left very shortly after Tenchi and Mihoshi got back. Ryo-Ohki, now fully revitalised with carrots, lifted up into the air and left Jurai. She passed the outermost planet and accelerated towards Earth.

            It would be a complete lie to say that the trip back to Earth passed uneventfully, but nothing out of the relatively normal happened.

            Tenchi's mind was a labyrinth of pitfalls and forks in the road, each with a face of one of the girls above it. If Tenchi's hadn't stopped thinking about all this shortly after, he would have become seriously confused, and possibly insane. Thank Kame for all the work that needed to be done in the carrot fields.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

In the next episode of Continuum T:

            Tragedy sweeps over the Masaki household, as something bad happens to Tenchi. Uncertain of his survival, Tenchi reveals something very personal to the girls in "Heart Attack". Will Tenchi survive this ominous title? What is this very personal information Tenchi has to tell? And will the events in 'Tenchi Muyo!' still be accurate, now that the plot has taken an irregular turn from the animé series? Find out in the next episode of Continuum T.


	7. Heart Attack

Previously on Continuum T:

            Having given up his Saiyan powers, Tenchi then met five alien girls. They became friends, and Tenchi let them live at his house. Together they defeated Kagato, and then went to the planet Jurai to free the captive Royal family. Tenchi was thanked, and they all returned to Earth. You would have thought that was the end of the story, but you should have thought better.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

            Continuum T, Part VII – Heart Attack

----------------------------------------------------------------------

As has happened frequently in the past, Tenchi was yet again the captive of Washu and her machines.

"Wathu, are you thore you need more thamples?" Tenchi pleaded. "Can't you dust thdudy thome of your older readings?"

            "I'm sure," Washu replied. "Just let me finish these anatomical studies and we'll start collecting the fluids."

            Tenchi groaned. He'd been lucky so far, in that he'd managed to escape previously before Washu actually started her retrieval, but he noticed that she had modified the restraints, so Tenchi wasn't able to escape the same way he had before.

            "Finished!" Washu said.

            The clamp was removed from Tenchi's tongue. "Does that mean I can go now?" he asked hopefully.

            Washu chuckled. "Tenchi, surely you know better than to say such things by now?"

            She turned around to her control panel, gazing over the readings while starting the next test. She stopped her command and frowned at a part of the holographic screen. She typed in another command and a graph appeared, superimposed on the data. She frowned again and started tapping in more commands.

            "Umm, Washu? Can you start the collecting now? I want to find a way to escape."

            "What? Oh, don't bother. Go." She waved a hand dismissively in Tenchi's direction, all the while concentrating on the readings. The restraints snapped open, dropping Tenchi painfully on the floor. He rolled in pain.

            "Oww. What? You're not going to try and get a sample this time? Why?"

            "I'm busy."

            "You're always busy. That never stopped you before, though. What's wrong?"

            "I can't say."

            "Tell me."

            Washu sighed. "Are you sure? It may be too disturbing for you."

            This remark made Tenchi cautious. "Y, yes. Tell me."

--------------------

"Lord Tenchi's been in there for a long time. Usually he would have come running out by now. I wonder what Washu is doing to him."

            "Ayeka, shut up," Ryoko said. "I'm trying to watch the film."

            "How dare you tell me to shut up? Don't you care about Lord Tenchi at all?"

            "He can take care of himself. You're probably just upset because he's not come running out half-naked by now. I, on the other hand, am far too mature to be pleasured by such trivial things."

            "Mature? Don't make me laugh. You have the manners of a pot plant, that is, none whatsoever."

            Ryoko glared at Ayeka. "Don't tempt me, Miss Priss."

            The opening door diffused the argument. Ryoko and Ayeka turned round on the sofa to watch Tenchi emerging from the dimensional door underneath the stairs. They gasped. Tenchi looked as though he had been crying.

            "Tenchi, what's wrong?" Ryoko asked as she got up.

            "Did Washu do anything to you?" asked Ayeka.

            Tenchi shook his head. He turned as Washu appeared from the door.

            "Washu, what did you do to him?" Ryoko said threateningly.

            "I did nothing. Tenchi decided that I should be the one to tell you."

            "Tell us what?" Ayeka asked.

            "You'd better sit down," Washu said.

            They did so, Tenchi on the single seat, and Ayeka and Ryoko on the sofa. Washu summoned her control panel. She typed in a command, and a holographic Tenchi appeared.

            "This is Tenchi, as you've probably noticed. While I was collecting his data just now, I noticed this." She typed another command. A holographic heart came out of its chest. The image of Tenchi disappeared. The heart expanded, and then the front half disappeared to leave a cross-section of the heart. Everything seemed normal, but there was a small white ball on the inside of the left ventricle. It appeared to be a separate object, fastened halfway into the wall of the heart. It reached about a third of the way through the wall towards the outside of the heart.

            "I don't know what it is. I haven't been able to analyse it. But what I do know is this: it's eating its way through the wall of his heart. It dissolves the bits of the heart it is in contact with, and absorbs them into itself, growing bigger as it does so."

            "It's eating Tenchi's heart?" Ryoko asked disbelieving.

            "Yes. And judging from the speed at which it is doing so, it should eat its way right through the wall in about thirty hours time. At that time, his heart will seize up and he will have a fatal heart attack. The other option is that it could become detached from his heart, due to the pressure of the blood rushing past it, and plug the artery leading from it. Even now it is too big to pass through, so it will cause Tenchi to have a lethal coronary arrest. That could happen at any time."

            "A heart attack?" Ayeka said, her voice quivering.

            "Yes," Tenchi said weakly. Up until now he had been staring at nothing, but now he reacted. "I'm going to die."

            With that he got up and went to his room.

--------------------

Ayeka knocked on Tenchi's door. There was no reply.

            "Lord Tenchi?" she asked softly. "May I come in?"

            Movement could be heard from the other side of the door. The sounds stopped and the door slid open slowly. Tenchi stood on the other side. Once he had opened the door, he turned and went to sit down on his bed, where he had obviously been before, due to the indent in the bedcovers.

            Ayeka stepped in and closed the door behind her.

            "We..." She paused and looked down, the stress of seeing him overwhelming her. "We've told the others."

            Tenchi nodded. There was an unnerving pause. Tenchi looked up at Ayeka.

            "Please sit down," he said, gesturing next to him. Ayeka hesitated, then moved and sat down near him, but not next to.

            "I want to tell you some things. I don't know how much time I have left, so I'll tell you as much as I can."

            Ayeka shuddered, trying to suppress the tears forming in her eyes. She swallowed and regained her posture.

            "I haven't told you this before, for your own safety. Firstly, do you know what a Saiyan is?"

            "I've heard stories," Ayeka said, her voice quivering. "Are they another form of humans?"

            "Something like that. There are only a few Saiyans in the galaxy. A Saiyan is an ascended form of a human. It is reversible, and pretty much the only thing that changes is the hair style. But the important thing is that it allows humans to achieve higher strength. I have the ability to become a Saiyan."

            "How?"

            "Only a select few have the ability, and even fewer can use it. A Saiyan is one of the strongest beings in the galaxy. I guess I'm just lucky."

            Tenchi paused. "About six or seven years ago, a being named Sel came to Earth. He was searching for the strongest human on Earth, so he could defeat him and become stronger. His ultimate goal was to grow to his perfect form. He challenged me to a fight."

            "You? Why?"

            "Because Sel thought I was the strongest person on Earth. It turns out he was right. During the fight, I became a Saiyan, although I didn't know what one was at the time. I defeated him, or so I thought.

            "About six years later, just a few months before you came to Earth, Sel returned. He was stronger, and had advanced to his next form, which he described as 'nearly perfect'. He was stronger than I was, as a Saiyan. He was going to destroy me and gain enough experience to grow to his perfect form."

            Tenchi paused again. "He succeeded. He killed me. He shot an energy blast straight through my chest."

            Ayeka gasped.

            "I died instantly, buried under a pile of rubble. But something Sel had said just before I defeated him the first time came back to me. He said I was the One, that I was Neo."

            "Neo? You mean, the One who appears in all the prophecies?" It seems everyone had heard of these writings and foretellings.

            "Yes. I thought that since I had died without doing anything to stop him, that I wasn't the One. Therefore I shouldn't have been in that fight and died, as only the One was mentioned to do that. I don't know how, but the next thing I knew, I was alive again. I got out of the rubble and became a Super Saiyan."

            "Super Saiyan?"

            "It's the ascended form of a Saiyan. As far as I know, only I have ever become a Super Saiyan. I was the strongest person in the galaxy by far. I fought Sel, and defeated him by forming a kameya-meya."

            "That's the most powerful technique ever. There are very few people who can do that."

            "Yes. But I did it. I completely vaporised Sel, saving the world."

            There was silence. Ayeka thought something.

            "Tenchi, if you are able to become a Super Saiyan, why didn't you when you fought Kagato?"

            "I couldn't. You see, there are two ways to live. Good or evil. Most people end up never choosing, and live their lives normally. I, on the other hand, had to choose. Obviously I wanted to be good, but that path was hard to follow. I tried my hardest anyway, but I swayed onto the dark path. I couldn't get off it. I was only becoming more evil. I realised that it happened whenever I was a Saiyan, so I vowed never to use that ability again, lest I become completely evil and do something unthinkable.

            "Then you came. You taught me about the powers of Jurai. I decided that I would use these instead, because although they are weaker than Super Saiyan powers, they didn't take me to the dark side."

            "Oh." Ayeka didn't know how to reply.

            "I wanted you to know these things, so that you would know the truth I've been hiding from you for so long."

            There was another silence. Then Tenchi laughed.

            "You know, it's ironic, isn't it? I've managed to defeat powerful enemies, namely Kagato and Sel, and the thing that's going to kill me is a stupid little tumour the size of a marble. Think about it, me, the most powerful human being ever, defeated by a heart attack."

            Tenchi became serious. "Ayeka, I've accepted that I'm going to die. I think it's right. I've saved the world and the galaxy. I don't think I'm needed any more."

            "But you are needed. We need you. I need you," Ayeka said, starting to cry again.

            Tenchi rested an arm on the shoulder of the crying princess, comforting her. She drew towards him slightly.

            "Ayeka, trust me. I will always be with you. With you all. I'll explain later. But for now, why don't we go downstairs? I've only got a day left, and I plan to enjoy myself."

            Ayeka sniffed and nodded. She rubbed her eyes and smiled weakly at Tenchi.

            "I trust you, Tenchi," she said.

            Tenchi smiled back. "Then let's go and enjoy ourselves."

--------------------

They were met downstairs by the other girls, along with Nobuyuki and Katsuhito. Ryoko spoke up.

            "I, um, told the others," she started, but lapsed into silence.

            "Washu says there's nothing she can do," Sasami sniffed. "We thought of everything, but nothing is possible."

            "I know," Tenchi replied, saddened at the sight of the tear-stained face of the young princess. "That's pretty much how I reacted when she told me."

            Tenchi looked at the group. "I have accepted that I'm going to die," he announced. "I know it must be hard for all of you. It certainly was for me. But I want you to cheer up. Death isn't totally bad. Washu, surely you know what happens?"

            Washu shook her head. "Having never died, I can't say."

            "Oh." Tenchi paused. "Anyway, I want to enjoy myself before I go. I want to spend whatever time I have left with you, and to reassure you that I'm going to be fine."

            "How will you do that, Tenchi?" Mihoshi asked.

            "Actually, I don't know," was the reply. "I think I'll go for a walk and think of what else to do. You are all welcome to come with me, if you want."

--------------------

Tenchi and the other girls went out. They chose to walk around the lake. They talked as they went, about small things, such as the upcoming meal and how nice the early afternoon was. But everyone's minds were weighed down by Tenchi's condition. Tenchi had tried to alleviate the depression, but hadn't succeeded. They returned in silence to the house.

--------------------

The rest of the day was little better. Everyone seemed to be distanced from Tenchi for some reason, and Tenchi didn't understand why. He sat thinking about it while they all watched the television. He was so wrapped up in thought that he almost didn't notice that none of the girls were trying to get close to him. Almost.

            "Tenchi?"

            "Hmm? Ryoko, what is it?" Tenchi asked.

            Ryoko looked away. "Nothing."

            "No, really, what is it?"

            "Well, I was wondering if I could, umm..."

            "What?"

            "Watch you sleep tonight?"

            Tenchi's initial reaction was of shock. Then he noticed how sad she looked. Her gaze was fixed, but her eyes gave it away.

            "Of course you can, Ryoko," he smiled.

            Ryoko looked up, surprised. "Yes? You said yes?"

            Tenchi nodded, still smiling. Ryoko smiled back, the most genuinely happy smile he'd seen all day.

            "Thank you, Tenchi. I promise I won't try anything funny."

            Tenchi just tilted his head slightly sideways while looking at her, and went back to watching the television. He felt Ryoko edge closer to him, and he felt more contented. He had managed to make at least one of them happier.

            Tenchi nodded slightly. He had resolved to tell them. But in the morning. The time wasn't right at the moment.

--------------------

Tenchi woke up early the next morning. He looked outside and saw that it was still dark. He smiled and looked sideways at Ryoko, fast asleep on the chair and drooped over his desk.

            He got up quietly and dressed. Then he went over to Ryoko and whispered.

            "Ryoko? Ryoko? Can you get up? I want to do something with you."

            Ryoko shifted slightly and murmured. Tenchi reached out and gently shook her.

            "Poor Ryoko," he said quietly. "She must have watched me until she couldn't stay awake."

            Ryoko was responding to the shaking. She was slowly waking up.

            "Ryoko, I want to do something with you. Please get up."

            "Wassat?" Ryoko mumbled. She opened her eyes. "Tenchi? When did it turn tomorrow? How long have I overslept?"

            "You haven't. It's still dark."

            "Still dark?" Ryoko asked, rubbing her face. "Why?"

            "I got up early because I want to do something. With all of you."

            "What?"

            "You'll find out. Can you go and wake the other girls, please?"

            "Yeah, sure." Ryoko pulled herself up.

            "Thanks. Tell them to meet me downstairs."

            "Right." Ryoko passed through the door. Tenchi followed, although he opened it first.

--------------------

They had all been awoken, and were downstairs.

            Mihoshi yawned. "What's all this about, Tenchi?"

            "Yes, why have you woken us up so early?" Ayeka asked.

            "I want to show you something. The time of year is just about right for it. And I believe it's going to happen in about five minutes. Would you follow me, please?"

            Tenchi led the girls outside. Six chairs were set up, overlooking the dark patch of night realised as the lake.

            "Please sit down. Would anyone like a warm drink?"

            They all did, so Tenchi went back inside and made six mugs of hot cocoa from the water he had preheated in the kettle. He placed them on a tray and took them outside. He distributed the drinks, and then sat down.

            Once he had finished, Tenchi watched the lake. The darkness was slowly changing to the special kind of blackness shown only once a day. He stood up and gestured the others to do so as well.

            "Around this time every year," Tenchi said, "the sun rises at a particular angle. Its effect is amazing. I wanted to show you this."

            They all watched. The darkness had changed to a dark purple, rich in colour. All of a sudden, a beam of pure light burst over the top of the trees on the opposite bank of the lake, and flooded the water with brightness. It caught the water in such a way that it made a rainbow of different colours sparkle across the lake. The girls gasped. Tenchi looked on, watching both the view and the girls in silent sadness. This would be the last time the sun would rise in his life. He shook the thoughts off and watched, enticed by the display, absorbed by its beauty.

--------------------

Later that morning, Tenchi had decided to go for a walk. He wasn't quite sure where he would go, though. But he did know one thing.

            "I want to ask you not to come with me," he said to the group of girls as they sat around the breakfast table.

            "But why? I thought you liked us, Tenchi," Ryoko said.

            "I do. I like you all. A lot. But I want to be alone, just for a while. But I promise I'll come back, so don't worry about me."

            And so he set off. First he set off to the shrine. He passed through and went to the cave. The door was now always open, as the cave's secret had been revealed, and no-one else would come up here. He walked through to the small cavern where he had found his sword, Tenchi-ken. He looked around for a while, remembering the first time he had come here, and what surprises he had unwittingly uncovered. He then moved on.

            His next stop was the large tree-ship core, his grandfather's tree. He sat and watched it for a small while, remembering the first time he and Ayeka had connected, when she had returned to him his sword. He winced slightly, now remembering his first fight with Kagato, but relaxed again as he remembered his victory.

            Tenchi walked on.

--------------------

He had returned by lunchtime, and had enjoyed the meal Sasami had prepared for him, with the help of all the other girls. He didn't hesitate to congratulate them on their work and effort, as it was truly one of the best meals he had ever had.

            After that he sat outside, accompanied by the girls. They talked for a while about small things, again none of them daring to approach the foreboding subject. Near the end of their talking, Tenchi decided that it was time to tell them. He waited until everyone had run out of things to say, and then started.

            "As you know, I'm going to die soon," he said, causing sad feelings to build up in those present. "But before that, I want to tell you a few things first.

            "Firstly, I consider myself to be extremely fortunate and lucky to have met you all, and to spend my remaining time with you. I enjoy being with you immensely, and I hope you feel the same about me."

            "Of course we do, Tenchi," Sasami said. "Don't be so silly."

            Tenchi smiled at her. "Anyway, I'm sure that my dad and grandpa will let you stay here as long as you want.

            "Secondly, you must know that I will always be with you. In your memories, and in your hearts. I know what existence is like after death, and trust me, it's good. Don't be alarmed, but I have died before. Only for about half a minute," he said quickly, "but it was long enough for me to find out what it's like. I didn't go to Heaven or anything like that. I stayed here, existing as, well, nothing. It's something about the mind and soul separating from the body. But the point is that I will still be here afterwards. I will always be with you, no matter what. If you talk to me, I'll listen. Maybe I can even do some things that you'll notice, to let you know I'm still there. Remember that. I'll always be with you.

            "Thirdly, and this applies mainly to Washu. Don't try to revive me. I don't want you to do that."

            "But why?" Washu asked. "Surely if I can help you, I should?"

            Tenchi shook his head. "I don't want to be brought back by science. This isn't like when I nearly died in space. This is natural, and I want it to stay that way. I feel as though this is meant to happen. Being brought back would just be unnatural, and I don't want that. Promise me you won't try anything like that."

            "I promise," Washu said.

            "Thanks." Tenchi slowly looked at the group of five girls watching him. Mihoshi, the fortunate Galaxy Police officer, helpful and considerate. Ayeka, the first princess, charming and pleasant. Sasami, the small second princess, nice and kind. Washu, the intelligent ex-goddess, unorthodox yet kind-hearted. Ryoko, the criminal now reformed, extrovert and carefree.

            "I know that pretty much since we met, you've all liked me. And I feel that it wouldn't be fair if I left without telling you."

            "You've chosen?" Ryoko asked.

            "Not so much chosen as made a decision. I know you've all been waiting for me to do so for a long time now, and I'm sorry for keeping you in suspense for so long. The truth is, I had to make sure that I was doing the right thing."

            Tenchi stopped and frowned. He put two fingers to his wrist.

            "My heart had just stopped," he announced. The girls gasped. This was bad. It meant that, according to Washu, Tenchi now only had about ten or twenty seconds before he lost consciousness.

            "How ironic that I'm going to leave like this," Tenchi said, pretty much to himself. He faced the group. "I love you all, and you know that. When it comes to _love_," He emphasised that word, to show it to use its true meaning, "I..." Tenchi cringed in pain. His brain was oxygen-deprived. He struggled against it. "I love..." he said slowly, in obvious pain. "...you..." he gasped. He tried to say something else, perhaps a name, but it could have been anything, but the pain was overwhelming. He collapsed onto the floor unconscious. His last sensual input was hearing the girls shouting his name.

--------------------

It was dark. Tenchi didn't know where he was. Then he realised that his eyes were shut. Almost immediately he came to the next conclusion that he had eyes, and so was still alive. He opened them slowly. A collection of faces were staring anxiously at him. They were his friends, the alien girls who lived with him.

            He tried to move, but was gently restrained by Washu's hand. "Don't move," he heard her say. "You're still weak."

            Tenchi moved anyway, and sat up. He realised that he was in Washu's lab. "How?" he asked.

            "I didn't do anything, if that's what you think," Washu said. "It's your nanobots that saved you."

            "What?" Tenchi asked.

            "It turns out that the object dissolved it's way through your heart, and broke free. It was immediately attacked by the nanobots, which deconstructed it. Some others repaired your heart wall, and restarted your pacemaker. They did it just in time to prevent you from dying. You were never dead, just unconscious."

            "Why am I here then?"

            "Before you say, I wasn't going to try anything. My computer noticed that the nanobots were healing you. We brought you here so I could monitor you better."

            "Oh." Without another word Tenchi got up, struggling only slightly, and walked out of the lab, seemingly in a trance, despite calls of his name from behind him.

--------------------

It took Tenchi a few hours before he was ready to face anyone. It wasn't just the task of getting over his supposed death, it was also other things. Like what he told the girls. They would doubtless have questions, such as about when he had died before, but one question stood out like an ominous cloud. Who do you love?

            He had tried to tell them, and he knew that if he had had just a little more time, he would have told them, definitely, but now he had to live with his decision. He couldn't not tell them, it just wasn't right not to, but he couldn't even begin to imagine the consequences. Would his friends split up, never to see either him or each other again, or would they become closer than ever? There was absolutely no way to tell.

            Tenchi went downstairs to the people he loved. His family and friends. They were silent as they watched him descend the stairs. Tenchi's face was emotionless, revealing none of his thoughts. He got to the bottom and stopped, looking at them. They, in turn, looked back.

            The silence was broken. Sasami ran towards Tenchi and grabbed his waist, crying. "We thought we'd lost you, Tenchi," she said between sobs, muffled by his clothes.

            "I knew you wouldn't die, Tenchi," his grandfather said. "You were always too stubborn to do anything you didn't want to do."

            Tenchi remained expressionless for a second, then smiled. "You're right, grandpa." He removed Sasami from his waist, squatted down and hugged her. "I'm sorry for scaring you, Sasami. All of you. I promise I won't die again."

            Tenchi released Sasami and stood up. Sasami stepped backwards into the group.

            "It's not as though I died, or anything," Tenchi said. "I might as well have been sleeping."

            "Well, as long as you're alright, Tenchi," Nobuyuki said. "You are alright, aren't you?"

            "Yeah, thanks dad," Tenchi replied.

            "I think we should go," Yosho said, urging Nobuyuki towards the door. "We'll leave you alone. I'm sure you have something to tell them?"

            Tenchi nodded, and watched as Yosho also left, heading towards the shrine. He redirected his attention to the girls, still watching him.

            "Please don't feel sorry for me or anything," Tenchi said. "Nothing happened. I'm as good as new, apparently." He looked at Washu, who nodded.

            There was an awkward silence. Tenchi sighed. "Just one hug," he said, "and then we can talk about..."

            He was cut short as five girls ran into him and grasped him, causing him to step back. He tried to hug them all in return as best he could. They stayed like that for a full minute.

            Tenchi released his grip, causing the girls to do the same. He gestured them to sit down as he sat on a chair. They did so.

            "You must have questions, and I know you want answers," he said. "Ask away."

            "How did you die before?" Ryoko asked.

            "Ah," Tenchi said. "Not the first question I thought would pop up, but... I told Miss Ayeka this yesterday. Do you remember?" Ayeka nodded in confirmation. "Well, basically, this creature called Sel came to this planet, looking for the strongest fighter. He found me. He made me fight him, and he killed me. There was something he said to me, though. He thought that I was the Chosen One, the Neo who appears in several prophecies. I had read these, and I thought that if I was the One, I shouldn't be dead, because the prophecies all say that I should live for a lot longer. On the other hand, if I wasn't the One, I shouldn't be dead anyway, as I should never have gotten into the fight in the first place. The next thing I knew, I was alive again, and stronger. I defeated Sel before he could go on to do any more damage."

            The girls were silent for a few seconds, processing this information. Then Mihoshi spoke.

            "Who were you going to say you loved, Tenchi?"

            The other girls stopped thinking and looked right at Tenchi, each with a questioning gaze. Tenchi stuttered for a second, then spoke.

            "That question," he said. "I knew it would come up. I've been thinking of ways I could answer it without hurting anyone. I haven't been able to come up with a way. I was going to tell you before, and I don't want to not tell you now. The truth is, I was going to tell you exactly how I felt, and let you think about it."

            He stopped talking.

            "Well?" Mihoshi asked.

            "Yes, um, I was going to say, before I, you know, went unconscious, I was going to say that I loved you, um, all."

            It was out. He had told them the truth, his feelings for them, and now he watched anxiously as they thought about this, hoping they wouldn't take it the wrong way or anything. Washu stirred.

            "You love us all? Not just one of us, but all of us?" she asked.

            Tenchi nodded. "And I love you all equally. No more, no less." He sighed. "Over the months I've known you, I've come to love you. I couldn't choose just one of you, like I know I should, because that would just be lying to myself, and it would hurt most of you. I've felt this for a long while, now, and I've finally built up the courage to tell you."

            "Courage nothing," Ryoko said. Tenchi looked at her, shocked, as did the others. "You were just going to tell us because you thought you were going to die, and you didn't have to live with the consequences. But now you do." She paused. "But I think I speak for everyone here when I say that I love you too, and I don't mind sharing you with the others, as long as I can be with you at least some of the time."

            The other girls nodded. Then they jumped out of their seats and went to hug Tenchi again, even more so than before. Tenchi was hardly able to breathe, but he wouldn't stop this moment for the world. He could feel their love for him as a warmth, stronger than ever, and his love for them radiated out like an aura, encompassing them all. He closed his eyes and wished this would never end.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

In the next episode of Continuum T:

            Tenchi's wish doesn't come true, and the moment ends. After a talk with Washu, Tenchi decides how to divide his time between the girls, in "Time Splitter". Will his method be fair, or biased towards one of the girls? Will Washu still try and collect samples, now that Tenchi has announced his decision? And will the next episode have a plot line, or some nonsensical bedroom scenes? Find out in the next episode of Continuum T.


	8. Time Splitter

Previously on Continuum T:

            After avoiding a heart attack caused by an unknown substance, Tenchi has announced his decision: all of them. Instead of choosing one of the girls, Tenchi has chosen to love all five. I hope the author doesn't decide to write what I think he could write, or I'm quitting.

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            Continuum T, Part VIII – Time Splitter

----------------------------------------------------------------------

            But the moment had to end sometime. And it ended now.

            "Tenchi, could I have a word in private?" Washu asked. "I promise I won't try anything, but there are a few things you need to know before we continue. Please?"

            "Okay," Tenchi said hesitantly, and followed Washu into her lab. "I'll just be gone a minute. Don't worry."

            They entered and the door closed behind them. Washu walked up to one of her many experiments and started idly tinkering with it.

            "Um, Washu?" Tenchi asked.

            "What do you think you're doing?" Washu said.

            "W, what?" Tenchi was taken aback by the question.

            "Why did you choose all of us? That's really selfish, you know."

            "Selfish? It's anything but selfish. I know I should choose just one, like my conscience says, but I chose you all. I sacrificed some of my contentment to please you. How is that selfish?"

            "No you didn't. You just didn't want to make a choice. This way, you get out of choosing one of us, and you make us all happy."

            "That's what I'm trying to do, make you happy."

            "But happiness comes at a price, Tenchi," Washu said. "There is no happiness without sadness. There never is."

            "But I'm not sad, and I don't think any of them are, either. It must be you."

            "No, Tenchi. Actually, it's you."

            "Me?"

            "Yes. Subconsciously, you're unhappy, because you should choose one, but instead you chose five. Subconsciously you've decided. You've chosen one. Unfortunately, you don't even realise that."

            Washu sighed. "You're a kind and considerate person, Tenchi. You can't help it; it's who you are. But you need to care just about yourself at least sometime. Eventually you're going to realise your true decision and announce it. It will make several people unhappy, but they will get over it. The first step is to realise that you can't live your life around other people. Sooner or later you're going to have to make a decision for yourself, and for you alone. The universe doesn't revolve around you, but your own world does. Make your world, and yourself, happy."

            Washu looked at Tenchi. "You know I'm Washu, the goddess of the mind. All those sample collections were only for fun. If I actually wanted to do it for real, I wouldn't let you escape. But the truth is, I wasn't really bothered. I'm old enough to realise that people like you come and go. I shan't be very disappointed if you choose another. That's the truth."

            Washu cocked her head slightly. "It's something to think about. Now, about the others." She walked up to a control panel. "I'm sure you'll be glad to know that you can't cause any adverse pregnancies."

            Tenchi choked. "Pregnancies? But I wasn't even thinking about that."

            "Come on. Surely you don't think that not even Ryoko has thought about such things, do you? Sex, I mean."

            Tenchi just kept coughing.

            "You haven't been willing to donate any samples of your semen, so I can't tell directly that you aren't compatible, but there are other ways. The other readings I've taken over the past few months all suggest that your sperm have been altered somehow. I'm still trying to determine the cause, but I can safely say that just enough has been altered to make you incompatible for conception with all of us. It's not harmful at all, but without more information I can't say if the process is reversible. So that's why you're not in danger of impregnating any of us.

            "The other thing is the timetable. You can't seriously expect them all to be with you at once, do you? You need to come up with some way to split your time with them, say, one a day?"

            "But why me?"

            "They'll listen to you. Leave it to them and it'll never get resolved."

            "But what about you?"

            "Hey, you chose me as well, didn't you? I shall expect you to be as fair with me as any of the others." Washu put on her cutest expression. "Just because of what I said doesn't mean I don't like it. It just means that I'm looking out for you. I want you to be happy."

--------------------

            "Tenchi, you're back!" Ryoko exclaimed as Tenchi and Washu emerged from the lab. "What did that awful woman do to you?"

            "I'm still your mother, you know," Washu said. "You're not too old to be punished."

            Ryoko glared at her and flew over to Tenchi. "I missed you, you know, Tenchi," she purred.

            "That's nice. We just talked about a few things. That's all," Tenchi said. "And one of those things was about a schedule. I think some sort of timetable is needed if we're going to carry through with this. One day each, and I do what I want over the weekend. Agreed?"

            They all nodded hesitantly, then in agreement.

            "It seems the most sensible way," Ayeka said.

            "But how are we going to decide who's getting which day?" Sasami asked.

            "I think the simplest works best," Tenchi said. "Names in a hat."

--------------------

            And so it was. A hat couldn't be found, so a salad bowl took its place. Identical pieces of paper with each of the five names were placed in the bowl and shuffled. Tenchi pulled out the first paper.

            "On Friday it's Washu," he said.

            The second came out.

            "Mihoshi's on Thursday."

            And the third.

            "Ryoko has Wednesday."

            "Sasami has Tuesday, which means Ayeka has tomorrow," Tenchi announced.

            There was some grumbling from Ryoko about her Wednesday, but she quietened down. "At least it's better than not getting you at all," she laughed.

            "Now that it's decided, a few rules need to be made. No trying to get others to switch days by any means. We're going to do this every week, so you might get lucky next time. No provoking others into fights on their days. If you do that you forfeit your day. And finally, the changeover is at nine in the morning. Agreed?"

            It was.

--------------------

            The rest of the day was spent watching television. Considering the rest of the day was only a few hours, it wasn't that bad. Then Tenchi got up.

            "I'm going to bed," he announced. He turned to go.

            "Tenchi?"

            Tenchi turned to Ryoko. "Yes?"

            "Can I sleep in your room again tonight? After all, you have chosen me."

            "And I've also chosen the others. You can do what you want on your day, but not now."

            "Okay," Ryoko sighed. She turned to face the others, all glaring at her. "What? It was worth a shot."

            "Goodnight, everyone," Tenchi called.

            "Goodnight, Tenchi," they called back.

--------------------

            The night passed without disturbance. Tenchi awoke the next morning at about eight o'clock. He got up, showered and dressed, contemplating the foreseeable future.

            I don't really like this way of doing things, he thought. But it'll have to do until we can find something better.

            "Subconsciously you've decided. You've chosen one. Unfortunately, you don't even realise that." Washu's talk yesterday suddenly recalled itself. "Eventually you're going to realise your true decision and announce it."

            Maybe she's right, Tenchi thought. Maybe I already have decided, but I just can't see it.

            He shrugged this off and went downstairs in search of breakfast. He found Ayeka instead.

            "Good morning, Ayeka," Tenchi greeted.

            "Good morning Lord Tenchi," Ayeka replied, a bigger than usual smile on her face. Tenchi noticed this.

            "Don't worry," Tenchi said. "I haven't forgotten. But remember what I said. Your day starts at nine, and it's only half eight."

            "But what's half an hour between good friends," Ayeka said sweetly, trying to charm Tenchi. But it didn't work.

            "I'm sorry, Ayeka, but rules are rules. I want to wake up first." To emphasise this he yawned and stretched. "Come on. Let's go get breakfast."

--------------------

            And so they did. Tenchi noticed that Ayeka ate slightly faster today, and was subtly prompting Tenchi to do the same. Perhaps she was worried that Tenchi would suddenly back out on his promise, but Tenchi wouldn't do that. He loved them too much.

            It was 8:57 when breakfast was over. Everyone except Sasami, who washed up, went to watch television. Tenchi sat at one end of the sofa, and Ayeka moved next to him. She sat and watched. Out of the corner of his eye, Tenchi couldn't help noticing that Ayeka's gaze kept flittering between the television and something near it. Tenchi didn't think about it much, and went back to watching television.

            A few moments later, Ayeka shuffled up to Tenchi and rested her head on his shoulder, sighing contentedly. Tenchi looked at the video recorder. The time of nine o'clock glowed back at him.

            Tenchi smiled, and wrapped an arm around her. She murmured contentedly, and grabbed his arm and held it close to her.

            The television continued displaying.

--------------------

            It was now later on. About an hour later, actually. Tenchi and Ayeka had gone for a walk. They came to a halt in a small clearing in the trees next to the lake. Ayeka sat down on the grass, and Tenchi sat next to her. They embraced each other and gazed out over the water.

            "It's funny," Ayeka said. Tenchi turned his head and looked at her. "I've dreamed of something like this happening for months, now, always imagining what I would do if it ever happened. But now I can't seem to think of anything."

            "That's life," Tenchi replied. "Things never happen as you imagine them. Sometimes it's worse, and sometimes it's better."

            "Which do you suppose this is?"

            Tenchi looked at Ayeka for several moments before answering. "Much better," he smiled.

            Ayeka started to lean in, but it was obvious she wanted more than to hug. She closed her eyes in anticipation.

            Tenchi was understandably apprehensive. It was his first kiss. But he set aside his worries and leaned in.

            Their lips met. Fire coursed through their nerves and registered in their brains as pure pleasure. Imaginary fireworks exploded all round as love expressed itself. Time itself seemed to slow down as the two lived forever in one moment. Even more poetic licence happened, which won't be looked at in detail here.

            Their lips separated. Ayeka was quivering.

            "Was that how you imagined?" Tenchi asked.

            Ayeka gasped for breath, forgetting to do so over the past moment. She caught it and looked at Tenchi.

            "Much better," she smiled.

            They resumed watching the lake.

--------------------

            Meanwhile, somewhere across the lake, Ryoko was angry.

            "I can't stand it," she exclaimed. "She could be doing anything with him right now. Doesn't anyone else care about that?"

            "Ryoko, we all agreed that this was the best way," Sasami said. "Don't go sneaking up on them. You'll have your go on Wednesday. You can do whatever you want then, but leave them alone."

            Ryoko slouched angrily in a chair.

            "What do you suppose they're doing?" Washu said.

            "Maybe they're having a romantic moment," Mihoshi giggled.

            Ryoko visibly angered.

            "Oh, yes, sister and Tenchi would be doing that," Sasami said. "I know Ayeka. I think she'd be doing just that."

            "Well, maybe Tenchi just got scared when Ayeka tried to put her moves on him, and ran away," Ryoko said, in an effort to dispel her fears. "He's still Tenchi, you know. No-one can change that much overnight."

            "Maybe not," Washu said. "But he did announce his decision to us. He's become a lot less withdrawn over the past few days. Especially with Ayeka."

            "What does that mean?" Ryoko threatened.

            "I'm just saying that maybe Tenchi feels more comfortable expressing himself now."

            Ryoko 'h'mph'ed and stared frustrated out of the window, waiting for the first sign of Tenchi.

            "She'd choose a romantic spot, probably next to the lake," Sasami continued.

            "They'd sit down and look at the lake for a while," Mihoshi picked up, "before looking at each other and..."

            They both started giggling.

--------------------

            After about half an hour, Tenchi and Ayeka returned, greeted immediately by a slightly annoyed Ryoko, to put it very mildly. Tenchi managed to calm her down, at least temporarily, before going inside.

--------------------

            After a mostly lazy day, and some more kissing, the mid evening finally came round. Everyone sat around talking. Tenchi sat in the single chair, with Ayeka on his lap. She had decided to be bolder and suppress some of her manners in order to be more romantic. A tiny part of her also knew that it drove Ryoko mad. She whispered something into Tenchi's ear, which made them both blush.

            Ryoko looked on in envy and annoyance. Ayeka would pay come Wednesday. She chuckled to herself, thing of subtle things she could do with Tenchi that would really annoy Ayeka.

            Sasami was talking with Washu about a new super cooker the genius had invented. Apparently it worked fine, as long as you didn't mind your food glowing afterwards, or growing legs and walking off.

            Nobuyuki and Katsuhito were talking about their days, albeit with a certain amount of tedium and repetitiveness; their days were usually quite boring. However, today was slightly different. They hadn't been told about the agreement between Tenchi and the girls, an oversight on their part. They were confused as to why Ayeka was on Tenchi's lap, but Nobuyuki was hopeful that Tenchi had at last decided, and was soon to be a man.

            Mihoshi was talking with Tenchi and Ayeka about how the day had gone. The detective giggled slightly as Ayeka related a half-true version of what had happened. Tenchi kept whispering corrections to Ayeka, causing Ayeka to whisper threats back of what she'd say if Tenchi didn't stop interrupting. Obviously the threats would be very embarrassing to Tenchi, as he blushed every time Ayeka suggested one. This caused Ayeka to blush as well, at the thought of saying those things out loud. Obviously what she was telling Mihoshi wasn't the whole story, as she preferred to keep some things private.

            It was around this time that Ayeka had a thought. She whispered to Tenchi. "Tenchi, you said that our days ended at nine in the morning, right?"

            "Yes," Tenchi whispered back hesitantly.

            "Does that mean that night time is included?"

            A violent coughing fit from Tenchi caused everyone in the room to look at Tenchi. Tenchi lifted Ayeka off himself, and led her to the kitchen. Once they were safely out of earshot of the others, Tenchi spoke. "What exactly are you implying?"

            "I just thought that it would be nice if I, well, slept with you tonight," Ayeka said. "I mean, if I slept in your room. Since I only have one day a week with you, I'd like to enjoy it as much as possible. I want to be with you for as long as I can."

            "Umm..." Tenchi started. He was remembering something Washu had told him. "Surely you don't think that not even Ryoko has thought about such things, do you? Sex, I mean." Washu's words made him uneasy. But Ayeka didn't know that. She couldn't know what Washu had said. She was quite probably being innocent in her request. Of course she was. She's a princess. She wouldn't disgrace herself like that, especially not so soon, considering the circumstances. "I guess you could," Tenchi said, unsure of what he was getting himself into. "You can sleep on a spare futon. Or you could have the bed, if you want, while I have the futon."

            "That won't be necessary," Ayeka said, nervous of what she was about to say. She had never been so bold before. "You have a big bed. Could I sleep with you, in your bed?"

            Tenchi's animé counterpart would have turned to stone at this suggestion, but this is real life. Tenchi stopped blinking, now staring into nothing, and ceased breathing. In fact, all his senses and automatic body functions stopped.

            "I apologise if I have offended you, Lord Tenchi," Ayeka said. "The fact is that I do love you, and I want to be with you as much as I can. Tenchi?"

            Tenchi shook himself out of his daze. "I'm sorry?"

            "I realise that you may not be ready for such things, and to tell you the truth, I don't think I am either. I'm sorry for bringing it up."

            A week ago Tenchi wouldn't have dreamed of saying anything like this, but that was a week ago. "Okay," he said hesitantly. "Why not?"

            This was not the response Ayeka was expecting. "Excuse me?"

            Tenchi had to reassert himself now, or back away. "I said yes," was his reply, albeit shakily. "You can sleep with me tonight."

            Tenchi was suddenly feeling very thirsty, but found that he couldn't move to get a drink. This was because Ayeka was hugging him closely. They looked at each other, then leaned in and kissed.

            "Don't mind me," Mihoshi's voice snapped them out of the embrace. "I'm just getting snacks for everyone."

            "Mi, Mihoshi?" Tenchi stuttered.

            "Yes, Tenchi?" Mihoshi stopped what she was doing and looked at him.

            There was an awkward silence. "Let me help you with that," Tenchi offered, his voice slightly too hasty. Mihoshi didn't pick up on this.

            "Thank you, Tenchi," she said. "Hold this while I get the fruit." She handed him a tray. Tenchi looked round to see Ayeka standing in the same place, looking embarrassed and blushing slightly, although she did have a bit of a smile on her face.

            "Come on, Tenchi," Mihoshi's voice stopped him from staring. "They're waiting."

            "Oh, sure." Tenchi started to follow Mihoshi out, when Ayeka grabbed his arm, nearly causing him to drop the tray. He steadied it, smiled at Ayeka and walked back in.

--------------------

            "Tenchi, there was something I was meaning to ask you," Nobuyuki said as they entered. He stopped short when he saw Ayeka clinging onto his arm. He cleared his throat and continued. "It's actually about that." He gestured towards Ayeka. "You two seem awfully friendly today. I was wondering why."

            Tenchi set the tray down on the table and sat down. Ayeka sat on his lap again. "Well, dad, it's kind of a long story..."

            "No it's not," Mihoshi said. "Tenchi chose us all to be his girlfriends, and today is Ayeka's day."

            "Thank you Mihoshi," Tenchi said, ever so slightly sarcastically. Mihoshi just smiled at him, and picked up an apple.

            "Is that so?" Nobuyuki said. "Well, why didn't you tell me? This is a cause for celebration! I'll go and get the sake." He stood up.

            "Dad, I really don't think..."

            "Nonsense!" Nobuyuki dismissed Tenchi's protests. "This is the perfect time for a drink. You're becoming a man, Tenchi. Act like a man. Have some fun." He went out.

            Tenchi sagged into the chair, shifting Ayeka's balance. She toppled backwards, and was caught by Tenchi's arm. She was now lying across his lap, their faces very close to each other. They paused, not knowing what to do. The others looked on, other conversation forgotten, each in interest, embarrassment, or acute jealousy.

            Nobuyuki walked back in with a tray laden with glasses and a bottle of sake. He nearly dropped them when he saw the awkward position Tenchi and Ayeka were in, but soon came back to his senses. "A bit too eager to show off, eh, Tenchi?" he said.

            Ayeka scrambled up and Tenchi looked hard at his father.

            "I know, you'd prefer it to be private," Nobuyuki sympathised. "I was your age once too, you know. Your mother and I wouldn't dare express our love in front of our parents either. We only did that in private."

            "Yeah, thanks dad," Tenchi said, not too eager to continue this conversation. Nobuyuki sensed this and started pouring out drinks for everyone.

            "Dad, I don't think we should be drinking, especially not Sasami. She's only eleven."

            "Don't be like that, Tenchi," Nobuyuki said. "I was only going to give Sasami a taste, if she wanted. As for the rest of you, I think you're old enough to handle it. Besides, I've been saving this for over seven years for just such an occasion. It was actually your mother's idea."

            "My mother?" Tenchi trailed off. "I guess it can't hurt, just one glass."

            He reached out for a glass, as did everyone else. Nobuyuki raised his glass for a toast. The others followed his lead.

            "To new love," Nobuyuki said, "and maturity!"

            Everyone groaned inwardly as they accepted the toast.

--------------------

            Tenchi has a slight headache as he awoke the next morning. Then again, so did everyone else. Between them all they had finished off an entire bottle of perfectly fermented sake, so this was understandable.

            Breakfast that morning was quieter than usual, and devoid of Ryoko's usual antics. However, Tenchi's and Ayeka's moods were subtly different, in that they were both slightly happier than normal, and were more free in expressing their feelings for each other over the meal. Some of the others thought that they just had a nice time the previous night, while the rest thought the same, but for a different reason. Tenchi and Ayeka, obviously, didn't say anything, but there was something different about them that morning.

            At nine, Sasami's day started. She suggested that they all go on a picnic, but bad weather forced them to cancel their plans. Instead, they stayed at home, having the picnic there instead. Afterwards, as there was nothing else to do, they watched television, Sasami sitting on Tenchi, his arms wrapped around her, as they watched an episode of the latest 'Tenchi Muyo!' series.

            Throughout the day, Tenchi didn't try anything more than a kiss on the cheek, as he knew that Sasami was too young, despite her protestations. And that's when it hit him: "You've chosen one. Unfortunately, you don't even realise that." He had chosen all five, to avoid disappointing any of them. Washu's words resounded again, clearer than ever. He realised then that Sasami, although a very good friend, was not his subconscious decision. He felt sorry for Sasami, but at the same time he knew that he was one step closer to realising something he had already decided a long time ago.

            He sighed, and hugged Sasami slightly tighter. The rest of the day passed uneventfully, and Sasami decided not to sleep with Tenchi that night, as "I'd just disturb you when I get up tomorrow morning to prepare breakfast". Even though Tenchi knew that she wasn't his choice, he pressed the matter, but she refused. He went to sleep, thinking about his true choice, and how hopeless it seemed trying to realise who it was.

--------------------

            The next day started as any other day did. The sun rose, as it was accustomed to do now. The mist cleared from the lake, leaving it sparkling. The orange sky changed to blue. Birds woke up and flew around.

            Inside the Masaki household, the people also awoke. One of them in particular was very excited. It was her day today.

            Ryoko bounded down the stairs early, and floated around impatiently for Tenchi to come down. She had almost lost all patience when Tenchi stepped out of his room. They greeted each other and went to have breakfast. It was then nine o'clock. Ryoko's day had begun.

            Ryoko hung around Tenchi all morning as he tended to the fields, making sure they hadn't been washed away by yesterday's rain. They were fine, so no repairs had to be made.

            Lunchtime came and went. Ryoko and Tenchi talked a lot during the meal, even more so than the others, so they were late at finishing the meal. Ryoko floated over to the main room, while Tenchi cleared their plates away. He then also went to the main room. As he walked past the main door, there was a knock.

            "I've got it!" Tenchi called. He opened the door and stopped.

            "Hello, Tenchi," the other Tenchi said.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

In the next episode of Continuum T:

            We discover the identity of this mysterious "other Tenchi", and what he wants. He seems to want what all villains want: to destroy the hero. A fight breaks out, and only one will survive, in "Evolution Revolution". Will our Tenchi win, or be consigned to the afterlife? Will there even be a real fight, as Tenchi still doesn't use his Saiyan powers? And will we ever discover what happened between Tenchi and Ayeka the other night? Find out in the next episode of Continuum T.


	9. Evolution Revolution

Previously on Continuum T:

            Having settled down into a fairly normal routine, the author has decided to introduce another villain. This one just wants Tenchi, though, and not control of the galaxy or anything. I don't have much to work on here, so give me a break.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

            Continuum T, Part IX – Evolution Revolution

----------------------------------------------------------------------

            Tenchi stared at the person standing in front of him. It was Tenchi. But there was something different about him. He wore different style clothes, black and tight fitting. There was a large scar across the right side of his face, crossing his eye and separating the eyebrow into two. It extended to the corner of his jaw. His hair was also different, longer, and tied in a crude tress with some string around the back of his head. His left hand had a glove on it, torn in some places. He looked bored.

            "Hello, Tenchi," he repeated.

            "Who?" Tenchi managed.

            "I'm Tenchi Masaki," the visitor said. "I know you are as well, and I know why you seem so surprised. You thought you were the clone, didn't you?"

            Tenchi just nodded.

            "I thought so. Well, you're not. I am. All those powers you have are natural. They are all rightfully yours. Myself, I was given powers, and had some others enhanced."

            "I'm not the clone?" Tenchi asked.

            Ryoko chose this moment to look for Tenchi. She appeared in the hall and flew towards Tenchi, when she stopped dead. She was staring at the scarred Tenchi standing outside.

            "Ah, the infamous Ryoko, I believe?" the other Tenchi said. "I heard you lived here. And Lady Ayeka, Princess Sasami and GXP officer Mihoshi are here as well. How splendid. But why can I not sense the goddess Washu?"

            "She's in her lab," Tenchi said.

            "Well, we may as well have everyone here. Hey, everyone, can you come here for a second?" the alter-Tenchi called.

            They all appeared from the main room, and gasped and paused when they saw the confrontation at the door. Washu appeared from her lab, frowning.

            "Who is this?" Ayeka asked.

            "I'll answer this, if you don't mind, Tenchi?" the other Tenchi said. "I'm Tenchi's clone. I was created from genetic information from your good friend Tenchi here. I was placed into a surrogate family on the planet Vegeta, a place where everyone endures physical and mental training. It is a world of warriors, you see. Once I was discovered to have special abilities, I was trained extensively to develop these powers. This made me the strongest being in at least this galaxy. Believe it or not, I am far superior to your Tenchi."

            "Why are you here?" Tenchi asked.

            "Simple," was the answer. "I am here to tell you something. I know all about your past, where you've been, who you've fought, and I know you don't fully understand it all."

            "But why have you come here now?"

            "But you already know the answer to that question, Tenchi."

            "To fight."

            The scarred Tenchi nodded. "You see, you are my only rival. Only you could possibly face me and win. It's very unlikely, but it is possible."

            "What do you mean?" Mihoshi asked. "The Royal Family of Jurai can control more Light Hawks than Tenchi. Surely they're stronger?"

            "I don't mean the Light Hawk Wings," the alter-Tenchi said, spitting every word. "We can both summon three of them, but that's not the point. Tenchi knows what I mean."

            "The Saiyan," Tenchi said evenly.

            "Saiyan?" Ryoko asked, consfused. "There's no Saiyans here."

            "You haven't told them?"

            Tenchi shook his head.

            "I think we need some more space, if we're going to fight." The other Tenchi hopped backwards and glided to the middle of the garden. Tenchi frowned as he went, and the girls stared, not knowing what to make of all this. Still, they followed Tenchi outside.

            "May I ask you a question?" the other Tenchi said.

            "I think you just did."

            The pseudo-Tenchi smiled sarcastically. "We even share the same wit. Anyway. When was the first time you became a Saiyan? And don't lie to me. I hate it when people lie to me."

            "Nearly seven years ago," Tenchi said.

            "I see. And what level are you at now?"

            "Super Saiyan."

            Tenchi and Washu frowned, while the others looked on, not knowing what that was. Ryoko spoke up. "Wait," she said. "There's no such thing as a Super Saiyan. It's only a myth."

            "And how do you know that?" the alter Tenchi asked.

            "I told her," Washu said. She looked at Tenchi.

            "I see. How ignorant," the other Tenchi said. He redirected his attention to Tenchi. "You have reached the ascended form of a Saiyan. Most impressive. But you haven't been so for long, have you?"

            "No."

            "I, on the other hand, have been a Super Saiyan for nearly three years now. It comes as second nature to me."

            "No, wait," Ryoko insisted. "There's no such thing as a Super Saiyan. If Tenchi was one, he would have told us."

            "Ryoko, there are some things you don't know," the scarred Tenchi said. "We Saiyans prefer to remain a secret. It's for other people's safety. But if you're still not convinced, Tenchi here will show you. Tenchi?"

            "I can't," Tenchi said.

            "Why not?"

            "I just can't."

            "Had some bad experiences with the Super Saiyan? I had those same problems. But then I realised something. I could be whoever I wanted to be. No transformation is going to tell me to be evil. It wasn't a problem after that. You need to realise that as well, if we're going to have a proper fight.  Nothing can tell you who you are. You make your own path, your own life."

            These words echoed in Tenchi's memory. He had heard them before. He was atop the highest mountain on the planet, just after defeating Sel and dying. Tokemi had told him those exact words.

            Some other words rung into his mind. "Tenchi, remember your training!" That was Ayeka, near Funa-Oh, when Kagato was attacking. "And here I thought you were going to protect me." Ayeka again, under Funa-Oh, his grandfather's treeship, just after Ayeka had returned the sword to Tenchi.

Tenchi frowned. He had decided to try again. He would use his training to suppress the evil inside him, and become a Super Saiyan. He would protect his friends once again.

            Tenchi lowered into a ready stance. He released his tight suppression on his energy for the first time since he had killed the drug dealer. His training had made him stronger, but he was still out of practise. He started yelling and became a Saiyan. He yelled louder and forced his energy higher. There was a burst of light, and Tenchi's hair turned golden. The aura around him was also gold. He had become a Super Saiyan.

            "But that's a myth," Ryoko stuttered.

            "If Super Saiyan is a myth, then the level beyond that must be impossible," Tenchi's other self said. "Want to see me do something impossible?"

            "What?" Tenchi exclaimed. "There's a level beyond a Super Saiyan?"

            The other Tenchi grinned and got into a similar stance to Tenchi. He powered up to Saiyan instantly. He raised his arms slightly, struggling as he did so, and became Super Saiyan. Then he started yelling. He raised his arms in front of his face and thrust them down. There was an explosion of light. Once it had dissipated, Tenchi could see the change. The hair was grouped into more lengths than a Super Saiyan, about twice as many. They also pointed directly upwards. Electricity crackled around Tenchi's opponent, running up and down his body. He relaxed from his stance and grinned.

            "This is the ascended form of a Super Saiyan. It is the Super Saiyan Two, or as I like to call it, a Hyper Saiyan."

            "How did you do that?" Tenchi asked.

            "I told you I had extensive training. And I also told you that Kagato made me stronger. I'm stronger than you, and this transformation proves it."

            "Kagato?"

            "Oh, didn't you know? It was Kagato who cloned you. He was going to come for me in a few years and use me to take over the galaxy. Then I heard that you had destroyed him while he was trying to capture Tsunami, so I spent the next few months coming here to find you. I figured that if you had killed Kagato, then you would be a worthy opponent."

            "I will not fight you, you fake," Tenchi said.

            "Please, call me Aki. It's my middle name. I decided not to use Neo. It's just so religious. I don't like that. It's like Earthlings called Christian or Mohammed. It's like, what's the point? Why are they called that? Anyway," he said, getting back on track. "You will fight me, Tenchi, or you will die."

            Tenchi tightened his stance.

            "The thing is, there can only be one of us alive. It's just the way things are. I don't like the idea of there being another me. We will fight. One of us is going to lose. One of us is going to die. Let's face facts, Tenchi. It's you."

            "But why do you have to kill me, Aki?" Tenchi asked. "I thought you were just like me. I hate to have to fight."

            "But I'm not just like you, Tenchi. I let the evil win. I am evil. I have crossed the border, and joined the Dark Side. I wouldn't think twice about killing you, and it's that attitude that's going to get you killed."

            Aki focussed on Tenchi. "Now let's fight."

            Aki charged forwards. Tenchi leapt to the side to avoid his attack and swung a foot at him. Aki disappeared and reappeared behind Tenchi. Tenchi, caught off balance, was hit in the back, causing him to reel forwards. Aki vanished, as did Tenchi. A small crater appeared where Tenchi had just been, formed by an invisible cause. An impact in the air sent Tenchi flying into a nearby tree. Tenchi closed his eyes and landed on a small branch, standing on a leaf. Aki reappeared in front of him, hovering in the air.

            "How are you doing that?" he asked. "I can sense you're not flying. That twig can't support you, can it?"

            "I trust nature," Tenchi replied. "And so nature helps me."

            With that, Tenchi leapt up and disappeared. Aki looked around and descended to the ground. He walked towards the group of girls, who were staring at the events in front of them in disbelief. Even Washu, who already knew that Tenchi was a Super Saiyan. Even so, watching what was going on was all the more unbelievable. Tenchi appeared between him and the girls, his arms spread.

            "Don't come any closer," Tenchi ordered.

            Aki cocked his head. "I was only going to apologise to them in advance for killing you. I feel they like you a lot, and although I am far stronger than them, I wouldn't want them after my blood."

            "Leave them alone," Tenchi said. He walked forwards until he was standing right in front of Aki. Aki cocked his head again.

            "Surely you don't think you can win?" he asked.

            "Surely that's not a nervous twitch?" Tenchi said. He swung his fist forwards and punched Aki's blocking hand. Aki's other hand hit Tenchi in the stomach, throwing him away and causing a trench in the ground. Tenchi got up. Aki raised an arm towards him, his palm outstretched. Tenchi was suddenly paralysed as an invisible force grabbed hold of him.

            "My telekinetic powers are unrivalled in the galaxy," Aki said. ""Don't try to struggle. It'll only make it that much more painful."

            Tenchi struggled anyway, then faded. He had moved to behind Aki. He grabbed him in an arm lock. "I don't want to kill you, Aki," Tenchi said.

            "You should," Aki replied. "I want to kill you."

            Aki forced himself free of the hold, and turned and faced Tenchi. Tenchi clenched a fist next to his body. It started to glow green. Aki cocked his head as he watched with interest at what was going on. Tenchi swung forwards and a bright green beam of energy shot forwards impossibly fast. It ripped straight through Aki and continued in a straight line into the distance. It was the same attack which had killed Sel the first time, and which had killed Tenchi the first time as well. Tenchi opened his hand and the beam stopped.

            Aki reached a hand into the hole through his chest, and looked at Tenchi.

            "You got me. Well done, Tenchi," Aki said. "Your mastery of energy is higher than I expected. Most energy blasts don't come near to harming me, but yours..." He tailed off.

            Aki waved a hand over the hole and it disappeared.

            "Advanced regeneration technique," he said. "It's like Sel's, but mine's quicker. However, I can't regenerate from a single cell like Sel. That ability was unique. But if you're thinking of using that as a weakness, forget it. You couldn't come close, even with your fabled kameya-meya that can destroy planets."

            "Destroy planets? I didn't think anyone was that strong," Ryoko said.

            "Obviously you've never met a Super Saiyan," Aki said.

            Aki reached a hand upwards above his head. "This is a nice technique, I think," he said. "It's called Destructo-Disc. I wouldn't touch it if I were you. It's immensely powerful."

            Aki created a ball of orange energy in his hand. It flattened until it was a disc. He swung it backwards and threw it at Tenchi. Tenchi disappeared just before the disc hit him. The disc continued into the woods, cutting down a line of trees before exploding in a large blast.

            Tenchi reappeared, clutching his wrist. His left hand was gone.

            "A bit too slow, Tenchi?" Aki laughed. "Never mind. It won't hurt for long, not where you're going."

            Tenchi paid no attention, but clutched his wrist. Sasami was screaming in horror, and Mihoshi looked ready to faint. The others had ill looks on their faces. Tenchi yelled, in effort rather than pain. He clutched his wrist to his chest and doubled over on it. He stopped yelling and stood up, revealing his hand. He had healed it. He bent down and picked up his old hand, lying on the ground where it had been cut off. He levitated it and formed an energy ball around it. The energy vaporised the hand and then disappeared. Tenchi glared at Aki.

            "You're right," Tenchi said. "It doesn't hurt now. But I'm sure this will." He raised his arms above his head. "Masenko!" he shouted, forming a large blue ball of energy in his hands. He moved his hands together, which made the ball smaller until about the size of a football. He threw it at Aki. "Blast!" he yelled.

            Aki stepped to the side, letting the energy fly past him and impact the ground just behind him. The ball instantly expanded to its original size, engulfing Aki and half of a chair. The blast dissipated, leaving half a chair, the other half having been vaporised. Aki stood there in shock, his clothes half disintegrated. Electricity crackled around his hand as he rubbed his face. He wasn't expecting that. He shook his head and powered up again, his aura reappearing around him. He tore off a loose sleeve, the other one having already gone, and threw it to the ground.

            "You're going to pay for that," Aki said slowly. He launched himself at Tenchi, delivering a rapid flurry of punches to his chest. Tenchi staggered backwards with each impact, until tripping over a rock and fell onto the ground. Aki shot an energy beam at him. Tenchi rolled to the side, letting the blast pierce the ground and tunnel a long hole through the Earth. Tenchi stood up, and was grabbed from behind by Aki. Tenchi struggled against the headlock, but Aki was far too strong.

            "Resistance is useless, Tenchi," Aki laughed. "There's no way you're going to get out of this one."

            Tenchi tried to prise Aki's arm from around his neck, all the time feeling the electricity crackle around him. He was in serious danger of passing out of consciousness due to lack of oxygen. If that happened he was going to die.

            Ryoko charged at Aki. "Leave Tenchi alone!" she yelled. "I'm not going to lose him just because some impostor comes along!"

            Aki shifted his grip on Tenchi, freeing an arm. He raised it at Ryoko, now in her battle suit. Aki cocked his head slightly, and an invisible force threw Ryoko back with such strength that she broke a leg on the corner of the house. She recoiled from the glancing impact and skidded along the ground before hitting a tree very hard. The tree splintered, showing how strong the force was, and Ryoko lay on the ground half dead.

            "Ryoko!" Tenchi yelled. Although he couldn't see what was going on, he could sense it. He renewed his determination to escape the grip. He yelled, and his aura reappeared around him. Unlike when he had fought Sel, Aki held on. He was obviously very strong to do so. Tenchi kept on yelling, and his power level kept rising. It was now about three quarters that of Aki now. His aura increased in intensity and vigour. There was an explosion of light from him, followed by another and another. A very bright light emanated from him, much to bright to look at. Once the light had passed, everyone could see what had happened. Tenchi had ascended to Hyper Saiyan. Blue lightning sparked all over his body. His hair pointed straight up, and the points of hair had doubled in number. He wrenched himself free of Aki and dashed over to Ryoko.

            "How did he become a Hyper Saiyan?" Aki mused.

            Ryoko lay still on the floor. Tenchi crouched down and examined her leg. Blood stained the skin all around, and a hint of white bone protruded from the surface in the middle of the dried blood. Tenchi forced the bone back into position, wincing at the pain he was causing. He placed a hand on Ryoko's chest and gave her some of his energy, until she awoke. Tenchi gave her some more until he sensed that her injuries had healed, and then let go.

            "Tenchi," Ryoko murmured. "You saved me."

            Tenchi smiled at her. "Why wouldn't I? It'll have to do until I can give you an explanation of everything, though."

            Ryoko smiled back. "Just as long as I'm with you, my Tenchi."

            Satisfied that Ryoko was all right, Tenchi picked her up and took her back to the others. He put her down and faced Aki. Aki was looking on in mild shock and surprise.

            "I'm through with your games, Aki," Tenchi said. "We're going to finish this now."

            "Congratulations on your ascension, Tenchi," Aki said, having regained his senses. "But I'm afraid you're still nowhere near my strength. Surely you can feel it?"

            "Yes, I can feel it," Tenchi said. "I don't care. You may not have anything to live for, but I do. My friends. I love them all, and I will fight to protect them with my life."

            "You love them all? Tried anything yet, Tenchi? But surely little Sasami is too young for that?"

            "That's none of your concern," Tenchi shouted. "All you should be worried about is how painful your death is going to be."

            "You overestimate yourself, Tenchi," Aki said. "But here isn't where we should decide your fate. There's just not enough room. Follow me, if you can. I saw a nice open space on the other side of the planet where we can fight."

            "You're so full of it," Tenchi said, taking off after Aki.

            "Tenchi, be careful," Ayeka called.

            "Don't worry, I will," Tenchi said.

            Tenchi and Aki flew off at an incredible speed towards a rocky desert somewhere in Africa. They arrived about two minutes later. They landed and faced each other for the showdown.

            Back in Japan, Washu was busy locating them, so that she could call up a visual display of them. She found them, and a big screen appeared in the air in front of the girls, a part of her laptop. The girls looked on as Aki and Tenchi fought.

            Tenchi and Aki were locked in battle, both at their Hyper Saiyan form. They broke, before launching at each other for a fresh volley.

            Several charts appeared on different screens next to the main one. They were all representations of the power levels of Tenchi and his clone. Aki's power level was given the value 27 million, and Tenchi's was 19 million. Given that the average power level of a human was about 100, this was very impressive. However, the large difference between Aki's and Tenchi's strengths gave Aki a clear advantage.

            Tenchi could sense that the girls were watching him. He looked over at the place the girls were looking at him from. Obviously there was nothing there, but Tenchi could sense something there.

            Aki could as well. "Why can't they just leave us alone?" he asked. "They already know you're going to die. Why do they want to watch it as well?"

            "They believe in me," Tenchi said. "They believe I'm stronger than you are."

            "How can they think that? I know they can see a display of our power levels. I have a rating of 27 million, and you only have nineteen mil, according to that data. You're far weaker than me."

            "Despite that, they still believe in me. And that's what gives me strength. You see, your power come from you, but the source of my strength is my friends. And my friends love me. They give me all the strength I could need."

            "A nice speech, but that's just figuratively speaking. You don't get physical strength from them at all. Without this extra strength, you are nothing."

            "I could get strength from them," Tenchi said.

            "Go on then. Nothing else you could do could hurt me."

            Tenchi looked over to where the girls were looking from. He concentrated, and the image the girls were watching was disrupted. Tenchi raised both hands up next to his face, palms pointing towards him.

            "Solar Flare!" Tenchi shouted. A bright light shone from his hands, blinding Aki. He groped around, waiting for the colours in his vision to disappear, leaving what was actually there.

            Tenchi spread his arms. "Earth, wind, ice, thunder, light, fire and psyche. I call the elements to give me their strength. Give me the strength of my friends, so that they may help me in my quest. Come to me."

            The girls were watching the viewscreen anxiously as Washu attempted to recall the picture. What looked like wisps of smoke started rising from them into the air. They looked at them in astonishment as the smoke of their energy soared through the air towards Tenchi, entering his body. Tenchi could feel them inside him, and focussed them into a cloud in front of him.

            Aki stumbled around, trying to make sense of everything he could feel was going on. His vision was clearing somewhat, and he could just about make out Tenchi's shape.

            The last of the energy came and joined the cloud. Tenchi reached into it and added his own energy in the form of a ball. The cloud adopted this form, and shaped itself into a sphere. Tenchi joined his arms together and pointed them at Aki, just behind the sphere.

            "Spirit Bomb!" Tenchi shouted. The ball of culminated energy flew towards Aki, circled around him a few times, and then impacted. A dense cloud spread out, obscuring him.

            The image returned, and the girls looked anxiously on. They watched as the smoke cleared, revealing Aki, who was very injured. Aki waved a hand over his injuries, healing them. He powered up even more, registering a power level of over 30 million.

            "Very nice, Tenchi," Aki praised. "But you're still going to die."

            "I may not have been a Hyper Saiyan for as long as you," Tenchi said, "but I'm a fast learner. It seems that every time I need to ascend, I do so. If there's a level beyond a Hyper Saiyan, you'd better be careful that you don't force me to become it."

            "Is that a threat? It seems to me like you're scared, to go on ranting like that."

            "Of course I'm scared. Half an hour ago I had a relatively normal life. Then you came along and turned it upside down."

            "You still don't get it, do you? Saiyans don't have normal lives, Tenchi. Saiyans are not normal people. We can never be like anyone else, as long as we can do this. So how can you say you have a normal life, if Saiyans can never have such things?"

            "Tokemi told me that I could do what I want with my life. No-one could tell me how to live. Especially not you."

            Tenchi powered up, until his power level was about 21 million.

            "We have incredibly high powers. I accept that. But at least I'm strong enough to resist my dark urges."

            Aki snarled and put his hands to his side. "A favourite move of yours. The kameya-meya."

            Tenchi moved his hands to his side as well.

            "Kah!" they shouted in unison. "Meh! Hah! Meh!"

            They both thrust their hands forwards. "Haah!" A large beam of energy was released by each Saiyan, and was shot towards the other. They collided in the middle and formed a huge energy ball, half Aki's energy, and half Tenchi's. They both put more energy in and the ball expanded, until it was almost touching them. Aki had put more energy in than Tenchi, so Aki's energy dominated the ball. Tenchi found some extra energy and evened the balance.

            "One of us is going to lose this, Tenchi!" Aki shouted over the sound of colliding energy. "And that someone is you!"

            Aki forced more energy into the ball and the dividing line between the two energies moved towards Tenchi. Tenchi struggled to even the score, but had no more energy. The ball was now totally made of Aki's energy, only held back by Tenchi's hands. Tenchi felt himself getting weaker, and struggled to keep the energy away. He yelled even louder, until he felt faint. His head bowed forwards, but his hands stayed up. Tenchi yelled again, louder than ever. He felt as though inside him was a barrier, and that he was getting closer to it.

            Back in Japan, the bars showing Tenchi's energy were rising. They were nearly at 28 million now. Washu gasped in wonder as she watched the impossible.

            "Where is he getting all that energy?" she wondered.

            The barrier was coming closer, until it surrounded him. Then it broke.

            Tenchi's hair grew longer and sagged down his back, until it reached his thighs. The ridges of his eyes became more prominent, like that of a gorilla or primate. His flaming aura disappeared, and was replaced by a spherical aura, which flamed out directly from Tenchi's body.

            Tenchi had ascended to the next level.

--------------------

            Tenchi stopped yelling. He clawed his hands slightly and raised them. The energy blast rose with them.

            Aki had sensed what Tenchi had done, and now could see him moving the energy. He stopped concentrating. This was a bad mistake.

            The energy ball blew up. Aki rapidly flew away, just avoiding the explosion. However, Tenchi was still there when it happened. The explosion covered three square miles of land, at the very middle of which was Tenchi.

            The girls stopped breathing as they watched the event, looking desperately for any signs that Tenchi was still alive. Washu was completely stunned at Tenchi's transformation. Sure, she had already known about the Super Saiyan, as Tenchi had told her. The Hyper Saiyan was a shock, but possibly predictable. But Super Saiyan 3 was astonishing. She could feel his power, and knew that it was very high, even without looking at the charts. The charts showed that Tenchi's power level was 35 million, over fifty percent stronger than he had been a few minutes ago. Such a rapid increase in strength in such a short period of time was virtually impossible, but Washu knew that anything not strictly and definitely impossible is destined to happen. She just never thought that Tenchi would be the one to do this, and wouldn't have believed anyone who told her that he would.

Washu mentally recalled the prophecies. They spoke of a Chosen One, whose powers would be unprecedented, and who would unite even the gods. When Washu had first seen Tenchi, she didn't seriously believe that he could be the Chosen One, but now, having advanced twice in such a short time, Washu sincerely thought that he could be. If he was, he had a big reputation to live up to.

--------------------

            The residual dust cleared. Aki watched in pure amazement as a figure was revealed. It had long golden hair and a very strong power. Lightning crackled on the floor all around him, and arced over his head, drawing random lines in the ground. He recognised the figure. It was Tenchi.

            Aki slowly drifted towards him. He landed and walked slowly towards him.

            "What is that?" Aki asked.

            "This is the Super Saiyan 3. The ascended form of a Hyper Saiyan." Tenchi's voice was deepened, due to the transformation, no doubt.

            "But what is it called?"

            "I don't know. I guess I could call it Ultra Saiyan or something. A name which shows how strong it is."

            "Maybe Extreme Saiyan?" Aki suggested.

            "No. I think this form will be called Supreme Saiyan. It suits it, don't you think?"

            "Oh yes," Aki agreed. "Supreme Saiyan it is. And I must say, it's a very impressive transformation."

            "Have you noticed my power level? Nearly 35 million."

            "Oh yes. That's incredible. But why haven't I become a Supreme Saiyan yet? I have a much higher top strength than you, but I've not advanced. Why is that?"

            "You probably never needed to do so. It's the act of having to ascend to stay alive that allows us to do so. And what do you mean when you said that your top strength is much higher than mine? I thought you were using your full power?"

            "No," Aki said. "I just kept it down to see how good you were. But I'm sensing that this is your maximum now. I, on the other hand, can go quite a bit higher."

            "Show me."

            Aki hopped away.

            "Congratulations on the Supreme Saiyan transformation, Tenchi, before I forget," he said. "Don't think I'm not impressed, because I am. It's not like you run into that form every day."

            Aki started powering up. The chart showed Aki's power level rising beyond Tenchi's, surpassing 40 million easily and raising until it was about 48 million. The ground started shaking slightly. Aki looked at Tenchi and smiled.

            "My highest power," he said. "On the chart, it's about 48 or 49 million, far higher than your 35 million. It doesn't matter that you're a Supreme Saiyan. It's actual strength that counts."

            "Tenchi's in trouble," Washu said. "Aki's power level is far higher than Tenchi's. Even if they don't manage to destroy the planet, they're going to do some serious damage. Tenchi could very well be destroyed."

            The other girls gasped as they heard this.

            "It's just a pity that we can't survive in space," Aki said. "We'd have some room to fight, then."

            "Are you going to fight, or are you going to talk?" Tenchi asked.

            "Actually, I think I'll show you a very special technique I've been developing," Aki replied. He instantly moved to behind Tenchi and grabbed hold of him. "The power leech."

            Tenchi felt a strange sensation as Aki started to drain his energy. He couldn't move, paralysed by the draining. He could only feel his energy seeping away.

            Aki laughed. "Do you feel that?" he asked. "That's your energy being absorbed by me. That's the last feeling you're going to have before I kill you."

            Tenchi's power continued to disappear. Before he knew it, he had powered down to normal. The long hair still remained, but now it was just normal hair.

            Aki continued to laugh. "I can feel your strength. Only now it's mine. You sure have a lot for such an inferior being. But now you don't have any."

            Aki released Tenchi. Tenchi staggered away and tripped, landing heavily on the ground. He looked at Aki. Electricity was crackling all over him, even more so than before. It was obvious that he was much stronger.

            "83 million?" Washu exclaimed. "That's unbelievable!"

            "What about Tenchi?" Sasami asked, about to cry.

            As if on cue, Tenchi powered up to his maximum. It didn't take long. Aki had taken nearly all of his energy. Tenchi didn't even reach his Saiyan form.

            "Tenchi only has six hundred," Washu said slowly. "It's not even close to a fraction of Aki's power."

            "Tenchi," Ayeka whispered helplessly.

            Aki laughed once again and cocked his head.

            "You know, that's really getting annoying," Tenchi said.

            "Such big words for such a little amount of energy. Only six hundred, whereas I have over 83 million. You can never hope to beat me with such a big difference in power."

            "Where there's life, there's hope," Tenchi said. "And my life is far from over."

            "So optimistic. But hope isn't going to stop me from blasting you into dust. Right now, you only have one choice. Do you want to die painfully or even more painfully?"

            "I can't believe you were ever like me," Tenchi coughed, dust getting into his throat. "I value life, and you destroy it. I give life to people, and you steal it. You thief. You're no person. You're a monster."

            "You know, I think that's the worst insult I've ever heard," Aki remarked. "Seriously. I don't give most other people a chance to insult me, and those who do are usually meaningless amongst all the foul language."

            Aki went serious. "You know the prophecies, don't you? The tale of a Chosen One with unbeatable strength? They refer to me."

            "They refer to a benevolent being. That's not you. No-one could ever write nice things about you."

            "What, so you think they refer to you?" Aki smirked. "You're going to die in a minute. And if you're the One, there's got to be some kind of a miracle to stop me. Right? I mean, how can you be the One if you're dead?"

            Aki raised a hand towards Tenchi and splayed his fingers. "I just want you to know that this is going to hurt you more than it's going to hurt me." He formed a bright white ball of energy. And fired.

            "Tenchi!" the girls cried out.

--------------------

            There was no explosion. There was only a huge blast of light, reaching out for miles. Aki was perfectly safe, as he was strong enough to resist it, but everything else for miles around was levelled perfectly flat.

            The light dimmed and faded, except for one bit in the middle. As the rest of the light disappeared, the shining centre could be seen more clearly. It wasn't round, but elongated in a rough oval. In fact, the more Aki looked at it, the more he imagined he could see a familiar shape. He saw it every time he looked into a mirror, or into a reflective surface of water.

            "No," Aki said, not believing what was right there. "That's impossible. You're dead."

            The figure raised into the air several metres and curled around itself, forming a sphere. Slight variations in the intensity of the light showed that it was spinning, slowly at first, but speeding up. Suddenly, it stopped. The sphere formed into another shape, similar to the first, but thinner. It descended and landed on the ground.

            A voice emanated from the shape. It was Tenchi's voice. "_Homo sapien_ evolved to..." it said. The light instantly faded, revealing what looked like a skeleton. It was a metal skeleton, with wires and cables running all over it, padding it out. The head was much like a metal version of a normal head, with a smooth grey skin-like material over it. The skin covering the mouth moved as the robot spoke.

            "_Homo validus_," it said. "Powerful man."

--------------------

            Everyone watching was completely taken aback. Washu was the only one to guess at what had happened.

            "Spontaneous human evolution," she said distractedly. "I think Tenchi's evolved to the form beyond what we call human."

            "You mean like, Super Saiyan 4?" Mihoshi asked, only half thinking about talking. The other half was staring at the robotic figure on the screen.

            "No. Tenchi couldn't have become Super Saiyan 4, even if he wanted to," Washu replied. "He only had a strength of 600. Even though he needed to advance, there's still a minimum amount of energy he needed to have to become even a Saiyan, and that was far above what he had. No, this is actual evolution."

--------------------

            Back in the desert, Aki was staring at Tenchi.

            "What, what is that?" he gasped.

            "It is the evolved form of a human being. A human become, if you will." Tenchi was examining his body, clenching his hands and twisting his torso. He was paying absolutely no attention to Aki.

            "But I can't feel anything. You shouldn't be alive."

            "Machines don't have power levels, Aki. My body is this now. My mind and soul operate it. It is far better equipped for surviving than the weak flesh of organic bodies. It is far more adaptable as well. Like this. Armour activate!"

            From a dozen different points around his body, more metal started appearing, segmenting their way around his body. They linked up perfectly with each other, forming a flexible metal suit, which surrounded and protected his entire body.

            "This is ablative armour," Tenchi said, examining his body once again. "It offers no hindrance to my manoeuvrability compared to before, but adds extra protection. It is virtually impenetrable, and also adaptable. Like so. Progressive knife, detach!"

            The metal strip covering the underside of Tenchi's left forearm regressed and disappeared. A short metal knife came out, attached at the end of the hilt to his arm, and swung around into Tenchi's hand. Tenchi jerked his hand to detach the knife, and the connector retreated into his arm. The gap was closed by a segmenting piece of metal.

            Tenchi brought the knife up in front of him. "Progressive blade, energise!" he said. The blade started to glow a light purple.

            "You can't sense me, so you don't know where I am without looking at me." Tenchi vanished and reappeared right next to him. Before Aki could react he swung the knife around and cleanly severed his arm. Aki clutched at the small stump on his shoulder in pain and backed away from Tenchi, a look of pure terror on his face.

            "Don't get me wrong, my clone," Tenchi said in a cold tone. "I'm not evil. I know that now. This evolution has given me a lot of extra knowledge. I know I am good. I'm just doing this to protect everyone else." He advanced towards Aki.

            Aki backed away even more, and tripped over a rock. He reached out his arm to stop his fall, but he no longer had an arm, merely a stump. He landed on its end, causing an immense amount of pain. Distracted by this, he didn't notice Tenchi crouch down over him, pinning his legs and arm, and sitting on his chest.

            Tenchi held his knife vertically over Aki's throat, ready to plunge it in. Aki opened his eyes wide. Tenchi could feel something.

            "You can't force me away with your powers, Aki," Tenchi said. "They only work on organic people, not me."

            Aki struggled and wrenched his arm free. He grabbed Tenchi's knife by the hilt and tried to force it away.

            "Resistance is useless, Aki," Tenchi said, still in the same cold tone. "One of us is going to die. Let's face facts. It's you."

            Aki whimpered at the sound of his own words being used against him. Tenchi was just too strong to be moved, irrelevant of how much energy Aki had. Aki closed his eyes.

            "Do it," he said. "Just make it quick." He released his grip on the dagger.

            "No," Tenchi said.

            Aki opened his eyes. "No?"

            Tenchi shook his head. "I won't do it. I can't do it. I cannot take another's life."

            "But I'm only a clone. I shouldn't have ever existed. And I'm evil. Just do it. Kill me."

            "People can change. All life is precious, no matter how that life was received." Tenchi moved to get up, but Aki grabbed his knife.

            "Don't. I want you to do this."

            "I'm sorry, but I can't."

            "It's not that I'm a sore loser. True, I can see that you are stronger than me, stronger than I could ever be. But that's not it. I have seen how I could have been good. You managed it, so I should have as well. I can't live any more, knowing I had a choice. Either you kill me, or I'll kill myself when you get off me. I'd rather you killed me, because I wouldn't cause so much damage. I'd need to vaporise myself, and that would destroy nearly everything on this planet as well. Please, do this for me."

            "I cannot," Tenchi said.

            "Kill me!" Aki tried to bring the knife into his throat. Tenchi resisted.

            "No!" Tenchi said. "You can be good. I can see it. I will not let you destroy your life, when you're making progress."

            "I'm sorry for taking your energy, Tenchi," Aki apologised. "I would give it back, but I don't know if you could take it in that form."

            "I'm fine. By evolving, my energy had been restored."

            "That's good to know."

            Aki relaxed his grip on the knife. Tenchi stopped resisting. Aki pointed his hand straight at Tenchi's face.

            "I'm sorry, brother."

            He fired a small energy blast into his face. Tenchi, although not damaged, removed a hand from the knife and clutched his face. Aki took the opportunity to grab the knife and plunge it through his throat. It cut his windpipe and went through and severed his spine. He died almost instantly.

            Tenchi looked back at Aki, and noticed his knife had gone through his neck, Aki's hand on the end. Tenchi bowed his head. Aki was gone.

            Don't feel sorry, Tenchi, Aki's voice sounded in the wind. I did it, not you. I am proud to have known you. May your prophecies come true.

            Tenchi pulled out his knife and reinserted it into his arm. He stood up, before bending down and picking Aki up.

--------------------

            Tenchi arrived back home half a minute later, carrying Aki's lifeless body. He laid it down on the ground and looked at the girls. They just stood still, gaping at what had happened.

            Tenchi crossed his arms over his chest and bowed his head, in a stance of respect. He then bent down and placed his hand on Aki's chest.

            "Goodbye, brother," he whispered. The space around Aki's body distorted and warped, and the body vanished.

            Tenchi suddenly glowed bright white. His form changed slightly, and the light faded rapidly. He was back to normal.

--------------------

            Later, Tenchi was in Washu's lab, being subjected to more tests. This time, however, the tests were strictly serious. Washu walked over to him, holding a test tube.

            "I don't mean to sound rude, or like how I have been in the past, but I do need a sample of your semen. You may produce it in private over there, behind those screens. You will have complete privacy."

            "Couldn't you just use a passive molecular scan?" Tenchi suggested.

            "I'm sorry?" Washu wasn't expecting Tenchi to say something like that.

            "A passive molecular scan," Tenchi repeated. He looked around the lab and spotted something. He pointed towards it. "Over there. The alignment reorganiser. You could modify that to produce a georamic wave, a non-invasive wave which can detect the location of any number of atoms, and then you can record them in a simulation."

            Washu was stunned. Now that she had heard this, she knew it would work, but she had never thought of it before.

            "How did you know that?" she asked.

            "My evolution gave me extra knowledge. Not much, comparatively to the total amount of knowledge available in the multiverse, but a lot nonetheless."

            "Oh." Washu was still amazed with everything that had gone on. "I'll get that started now then."

            "Do you want me to help?" Tenchi offered.

            "No, that's okay," Washu replied. "Although I will need to conduct more tests to see how much you really know."

            "Okay then. I'll be off now. I'm sure Ryoko's waiting for me."

--------------------

            And she was. She thanked him for saving her life countless times, and Tenchi talked with everyone there about what had happened. Tenchi told them all the whole truth about his past, which up until now had remained a secret.

            Surprisingly, Ryoko didn't ask to sleep in Tenchi's room that night, for reasons she didn't say. Tenchi suspected that since he had saved her life, she didn't feel right sleeping with him. The next day was Mihoshi's, and that went fairly normally. Generally, Mihoshi was too embarrassed to show any true affection for Tenchi, and was content with just sitting next to him. She, too, didn't sleep with Tenchi that night, and so Tenchi spent that night alone as well. The next day was Washu's. She tried coaxing Tenchi into her lab with promises of nice food and anything else he wanted. Tenchi resisted, until later that day.

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In the next episode of Continuum T:

            The final part of the prophecy comes true. Tenchi faces his ultimate challenge, in "K'oko Attacks!". Will the prophecy be entirely accurate, destining Tenchi to die? Will Tenchi finally accept Washu's offer of pleasure? Will there be an apology for Aki's offensive behaviour towards religious names? Find out in the next episode of Continuum T.


	10. K'oko Attacks!

Previously on Continuum T:

            After facing his clone and defeating him by evolving to the next stage of human development, Tenchi has told his alien friends all about his past, the fights with Sel and his ascension to a Super Saiyan. Although he has now become a Supreme Saiyan, two stages on from a Super Saiyan, the main topic of discussion is Tenchi's evolution to _homo validus_, meaning powerful man. There is only one part of the legendary prophecy left, and everyone is convinced that Tenchi will succeed. However, I'm not too sure. The last part of the prophecy was lost aeons ago, so we don't know if Tenchi will survive or not. I hope he does, because I kind of like this job now.

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            Continuum T, Part X – K'oko Attacks!

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"And so, by transferring the transitional phase variance through the magnetic polarising coils, I can create an energy beam which is strong enough to power my invention. That's how it's powered. Any questions so far?"

            "No, little Washu," everyone chorused. Washu had dragged them into her lab to show off her latest invention. True, they weren't doing much anyway, but they considered doing nothing at all to be much more interesting than Washu's latest contraption.

            "Right. Now. The parcorporal inducing gamemometer works like this. The power is distributed through the guided indicators here, here and here. This one leads to..."

            Everyone silently groaned. This wasn't at all interesting to them.

            Suddenly, a blast of air hit them from behind. Everyone turned around to see what caused it. Stood behind them was a short white rabbit standing on its hind legs. Light green stripes crossed its chest and large ears, which reached down to the ground. It had a small horn on its head. With it was a tall yellow fox, also on its hind legs. It had a white chest and a long bushy tail. It wore purple fingerless gloves reaching to the elbows, through which claws protruded. The two looked as if they had come straight out of a manga comic. They both looked as if they were fairly young for their species. They both had serious looks on their faces.

            "I am T'rea," the rabbit creature said. Its voice suggested that it was male. "This is R'na." He gestured towards the fox creature.

            "We need your help," R'na said in a female tone. "We are Sliders. I believe Washu can explain us."

            Everyone turned slightly to look at Washu. Washu just stood there amazed. "Sliders? Really?"

            "What are Sliders?" Mihoshi asked.

            "Oh, um, Sliders are beings that can control dimensions, and even create new ones. Besides deities, they are the most powerful entities to ever exist," she explained. "They have found a way to write themselves into the very fabric of existence. Therefore Sliders are digital. They are composed of data, which they use and store in slightly unique ways to each other. They store their data in their own dimensions, which they create to store themselves in. The more data they have, the stronger they are. Because of their ability to manipulate dimensions, they can 'slide' through them at will, hence the term 'Slider'. 

"If they are strong enough, that is, if they have enough data, they would then be able to digivolve, short for digitally evolve. They change their shape, and even their identity. They become a lot stronger. The process is a lot like when you evolved, Tenchi, when you fought your clone. However, their strength, even in their base form, is immensely superior to your own, even if you are Super Saiyan 3."

"That's right," T'rea confirmed. "However, we need your help. We have encountered a foe that is far stronger than us. Out of the twenty Sliders that exist, only three are able to digivolve at will. We are two of them. The third is K'oko. However, K'oko has been infected by a virus. It attacked his digital structure, manipulating him, giving him unprecedented strength."

"It also took control of him," R'na continued. "The virus mostly controls him. His original self does break through, but very rarely, and only for a few seconds. Now he is obsessed with destroying everything, all dimensions. We cannot stop him."

"Why did you come to us, then?" Ayeka asked.

"Yeah, if you're the strongest beings to ever exist, why are you asking us for help?" Ryoko asked.

"Not you. Tenchi," T'rea said. Tenchi gazed at him.

"What? Why me?"

"Are you aware of the definition of strength, Tenchi?" R'na asked.

"Yes, it's a person's potential, right?"

"Right. We have been watching you for some time now, Tenchi," R'na said. "I was there watching you when you first fought Sel. I could see your potential was greater than most other peoples."

"I was there when you defeated Sel six years later," T'rea said. "I saw how you became a Super Saiyan, far stronger than anyone else in the Universe, with the exception of your clone, that is. We were both there when you defeated Kagato. You had renounced your Saiyan powers, instead using the less powerful Jurian powers you had. This showed you were adaptable."

"When you fought your clone, you advanced twice within a short time to Super Saiyan 3, or Supreme Saiyan. When you still weren't able to defeat your clone, you evolved to _homo validus_, Powerful Man. We knew then that you had the potential we need. We need your strength to help us defeat K'oko."

"Where is this K'oko?" Tenchi asked.

"He's following us through the dimensions. He can sense our residual presence in existence. He's tracking us so that he can destroy us, erase our data, so then no-one will be able to counter him during his destructive quest."

"But if he erases your data, you won't have any left," Sasami said. "Does that mean you'll die?"

"Yes, it does. But we don't intend to die any time soon," T'rea said. "That is why we're going to face him. We shall fight him in a dimension far from any others. But we need you to back us up. If we should fail to stop him, you would be the last chance existence has against him."

"Still, no pressure, right?" Mihoshi said. Everyone else just stared at her.

"If Tenchi's going to fight, I'll help him," Ayeka said.

"Me too," Ryoko added.

"And I suppose we'll go with him too," Washu said.

"I'm afraid that would be impossible. K'oko has constructed a fighting arena in a new dimension," R'na said. "While we could take you all there, none of you would last three microseconds against K'oko. Tenchi is the only one who has the strength to even survive in there. The rest would all be vaporised pretty much instantly. It would be best if you stayed out of the fighting."

"I can sense K'oko. He's nearing our position. We must go now," T'rea said.

"Right," the fox replied. "Let us go."

They all vanished.

--------------------

They reappeared in a field of short grass on the edge of a cliff. Below it was water. The weather was nice. The whole place seemed tranquil. But this was a complete contrast to what would happen here soon.

            "Not exactly my idea of an arena," Tenchi laughed nervously.

            "So where is this K'oko?" Washu said.

            "Don't worry," T'rea said. "He'll find us."

            No sooner had the rabbit spoken these words then a gust of wind shot out from a spot near the cliff's edge. K'oko had appeared.

            K'oko looked like a cross between a monkey and a large thin bear. His fur, which covered nearly all his body, was dark purple. His long arms rested their hands on the ground, as he stayed almost upright. A white cloth was wrapped around his left arm. What seemed like the top half of a skull rested on his head above his face. His red eyes surveyed the group of people there. He was about three times as tall as R'na, who herself was much the same height as Tenchi.

            "Destroy," K'oko hissed, sending a chill through everyone. R'na and T'rea leapt forwards.

            "Don't try to interrupt the battle," R'na said. "K'oko would wipe you out in a breath."

            R'na and T'rea ran at K'oko. R'na leapt into the air and spread her arms wide.

            "Diamond storm!" she shouted. Many white fragments appeared in front of her, before shooting forward at K'oko.

            T'rea opened his mouth wide. "Bubble blast!" he shouted, before shooting a bright green ball of energy from his mouth at K'oko.

            K'oko shielded from the diamond storm with the back of his hand, and caught the bubble blast in the other. He clenched both hands and the attacks disappeared.

            Undeterred, R'na flew forwards at K'oko's head, while T'rea head butted his chest. R'na swung a fist and hit K'oko square on. The impact caused him to sway backwards, and T'rea's head butt sent him reeling away. They launched at him for another attack, but K'oko swung one of his large arms around and hit them away.

            "No!" Sasami shouted. She tried to run forwards to help them, but Tenchi had grabbed her shoulder. She looked at him and pleaded. "Tenchi, let me go. He's hurting them."

            "I know, Sasami. But you can't help them. You would only get yourself killed. Stay here."

            Sasami sniffled and stayed where she was. She looked over at the fox and rabbit, which were picking themselves up.

            "He's too strong like this. We need to digivolve," R'na said.

            "But if we digivolve now, we might lose our last chance to win," T'rea argued.

            "True," R'na agreed. "But we must digivolve. We can't last like this much longer."

            "Right."

            They both crouched down on the ground.

            "What are they doing?" Ayeka asked.

            "Digivolution activate!" R'na and T'rea both shouted. A partially transparent small bubble surrounded each of them. They rose into the air, rolling the beings.

            "T'rea digivolved to..." T'rea's voice sounded.

            "R'na digivolved to..." R'na's voice was heard similarly.

Suddenly their images changed. The bubbles shattered, and the shards disappeared. Two beings dropped from where the bubbles had been. The one in place of T'rea looked slightly like him, but much bigger, about twice the height of Tenchi now. Red stripes crossed his cheeks. He wore blue pants, which were cut off near the bottom. An ammo strap crossed his chest and looped around his body. His hands were replaced by what can only be described as chain gun barrels. There were three small metallic claws protruding from the front of each of them. A red upturned triangle featured on his forehead. He seemed older and wiser. "G'ago!" he shouted.

            The one in place of R'na also looked like her, but this creature was on all fours. Nine tails took the place of the one previously there. A red and white striped pole was twisted loosely around her neck, and ended in golden knobs. A yin yang symbol featured on her forehead. Her overall appearance was older, more adult and wiser. "K'yubi!" she shouted.

            "What happened?" Ryoko asked astonished.

            "They digivolved," Washu replied. "Remember, I told you that when they digivolved, they changed their physical appearance and even their identities. T'rea digivolved to G'ago, and R'na digivolved to K'yubi. That's who they are now."

            G'ago and K'yubi ran forward at K'oko.

            "Laser shot!" G'ago shouted. He aimed his hands at K'oko and fired a barrage of green energy blasts at him.

            "Fox tail inferno!" K'yubi shouted. Her tails fanned out, and a white flame appeared on each of the tips. The flames launched at K'oko.

            K'oko was hit full on by the onslaught. He was thrown back to near the edge of the cliff. He had several cuts and marks on his body, out of which black spheres were leaking.

            "What are those coming out of K'oko?" Mihoshi asked.

            "I don't know," Washu replied.

            The black spheres started to rush back to the cuts. As they re-entered the body the cuts started healing. After a few seconds they were gone. K'yubi gasped. "He regenerated himself! How?"

            "It must be the virus inside him," G'ago said. "We're not going to win as long as that virus controls him."

            K'oko stood up and grinned. "Destroy," he hissed. He crouched down, and a sphere appeared around him. It rose up into the air.

            "He's digivolving!" Sasami gasped.

            The sphere shattered, revealing a large creature. It seemed to be a cross between a stuffed bear and a fox. It was mostly humanoid, except for its colours, which were mostly white and light brown, its size and its long arms and fingers, which reached nearly down to the ground. It had long ears, which were draped down behind its shoulders. Three relatively small horns appeared on his forehead. He was very tall, about six times as tall as G'ago.

            "Attack!" K'yubi shouted. She ran forward, jumped and curled her body around. It glowed light blue. "Dragon wheel!" she shouted. As the bright light spun, a dragon's head, also made of light, appeared out of it and rushed at K'oko, dragging the rest of the light behind it in a beam. K'oko dodged out of the way just as it passed. The light faded to reveal K'yubi, in about the position of the dragon's head. She collapsed onto the floor. She was weakened by that attack.

            "Quick fire!" G'ago shouted. He released another barrage at K'oko. K'oko started back flipping to avoid it. G'ago jumped up and forwards, using his big fan-shaped ears to glide along, still firing. K'oko back flipped still, until he reached the edge of the cliff. He somersaulted backwards off the edge, and fell towards the water. G'ago landed and ran to the edge. K'oko was hovering a few metres above the water, seemingly unhurt. He looked up and grinned at G'ago. G'ago hurried to K'yubi as she struggled to get up.

            "Washu, can't you do anything to help them?" Tenchi asked.

            "No, I can't," Washu said. "And it seems as though they're using their full power."

            "Didn't you say that they were made of data, and that that's what makes them strong? Can't you just give them more data?"

            "I could, but the way they store data is unique to anything and anyone else. It would be very hard to find out their data's configuration."

            "But if you did, could you then make some more data for them, so they could use it to become stronger?"

            "I could..." Washu's voice faded. She summoned her light keyboard and started furiously tapping in commands. "I'm scanning their dimensions. The ones they store themselves in. If I can determine the configuration of them, I can construct a matrix similar to it. An amplifying data matrix would theoretically increase their strength by a factor of three. Potentially they would be able to digivolve again and become even stronger. This won't take long."

            As Washu continued her work, the others watched K'yubi and G'ago. They themselves were watching K'oko from the top of the cliff. They then looked at each other and nodded. They jumped off the edge and flew down to K'oko.

            "I've got it!" Washu exclaimed. "I've made the alterations. They should be three times stronger now."

            Tenchi nodded, and ran to the edge of the cliff. "Washu has added a data matrix to you!" he shouted. "You should be able to use it to digivolve again!"

            "Right," they said. "Matrix digivolution activate!"

            They started shining until they became bright light. The lights grew to form new shapes. 

            "G'ago matrix digivolved to..."

            "K'yubi matrix digivolved to..."

Suddenly the lights disappeared. Two figures were revealed. One was a large robot, vaguely humanoid. It was mostly green, but with a few bits of white and black. A large horn was on the sunken head. On his back was what looked like a thin barrel, stretching from shoulder to shoulder. Metal wings came from his back. "R'pid!" he shouted.

The other figure was also mostly humanoid. Long beige robes covered her body, and her face looked like a yellow fox's, but more human-like. The long sleeves covered her hands. On her shoulders were large protrusions, also covered. Overall she looked like a mage in her robes. "T'au!" she shouted.

"What now?" Ryoko asked.

"G'ago digivolved into R'pid, and K'yubi digivolved into T'au." Washu said.

"I can't believe that robot used to be a small rabbit," Sasami said.

R'pid aimed his arms at K'oko. "Rapid fire!" he shouted. Several small missiles shot out of his arms and flew at K'oko. They all impacted causing several large tears to appear in K'oko's body, which released more black spheres.

"Talisman blast!" T'au shouted. She waved her arm in the air, causing a symbol to appear. The symbol glowed and projected itself at K'oko in a beam. It hit, forming a large hole straight through his chest, and separating his body at that point. More black spheres spewed out from the hole.

"We got him!" R'pid cheered.

"Think again," K'oko hissed. His body regenerated, reabsorbing the black spheres and healing the wounds.

"He regenerated himself again!" T'au exclaimed.

K'oko brought his arms back over his head and flung them towards R'pid and T'au. A strong gust of wind caused by K'oko made them fly backwards. T'au skimmed across the surface of the water, while R'pid impacted a cliff wall. He bounced off it and fell into the water.

R'pid regained herself and landed on a rock jutting out from the water.

"It's no use. We can't win against him. He's too strong," she said.

"We have to try," R'pid said, bursting up out of the water. "If we give up now, reality is as good as nothing."

K'oko started sinking into the water.

"Where's he going? Is it over?" T'au asked.

"I don't think so. Not by a long shot," the robot replied.

K'oko had completely submerged. Another form reached out of the water. It was dark purple, and could only be described as a clown. The reason for this is that it had a large pointy disc protruding from his neck, making his appearance seem that of a clown. There was an evil look on his face.

"He digivolved again!" Tenchi exclaimed. "How can he keep doing that?"

"That's his final form," Washu said. "All Sliders have only three forms, and that is K'oko's last one. He's incredibly strong now, though. All the Light Hawk Wings wouldn't amount to anything against him. Super Saiyan 3 certainly couldn't."

"Destroy," K'oko hissed. A circle of black spheres suddenly spread out from him. The other Sliders flew back up to the cliff. They were just about to land when they stumbled. They fell to the ground.

Sasami gasped. "They've changed back to their first forms!"

T'rea and R'na stood up, and then collapsed. They didn't seem to be able to move. Tenchi ran over to them and grabbed them.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"I'm sorry," R'na said, in a very weak voice. "You'll have to take over now." The effort of speaking was too much for her, and she fainted.

"Just hold him until we're better," T'rea said, just before he fainted as well.

Tenchi dragged them back to the others, where he laid them down. He then started walking towards the middle of the cliff, between his friends and the edge.

"Tenchi, don't!" Ayeka said concerned. "You'll be killed."

"I must. Someone has to stand up for existence. Otherwise we're all dead." Tenchi paused. "And I'm not going to die until I know I've done my very best at trying to save reality."

With that he continued walking. K'oko had flown back to the top of the cliff, and was stood close to the edge of the outcropping. Tenchi saw him and stopped.

"I am all that is left between you and Armageddon. I swear, I'll do everything I can to stop that from happening." Tenchi readied himself. "I know I'm almost certainly going to die, but there is a chance that I'll survive, and that is a chance I'm more than willing to take, if it means saving the Universe."

"Destroy."

--------------------

Tenchi started yelling. His short hair quickly grew very long. It clumped together in bits, and turned yellow. A huge energy aura appeared round him, reaching up almost four times as high as he was. His eyes turned green, and his hair swayed down behind his back, reaching down to the back of his knees.

            He stopped yelling and looked at K'oko. He seemed indifferent, perhaps even a little amused. Tenchi frowned.

            "The Supreme Saiyan form may not seem like much," he said, "but so far all I've seen of your abilities is fast reflexes and regeneration. I'll bet you don't actually have much in the way of experience with energy blasts. Let's see how you fare against a kameya-meya."

            With that he pulled his arms together in front of him, and positioned his hands at his side. "Kah!" he shouted. A bright white energy ball formed in his hands. "Meh! Hah! Meh!" He pushed his hands in front of him. "Haah!" he yelled, releasing the blast. It flew straight at K'oko, encompassing him completely. The entire area was filled with energy.

            Tenchi lowered his hands, hardly having broken into a sweat. He looked at where K'oko had been, and saw that he was gone. He had been completely vaporised.

            "That was incredible!" Washu exclaimed. "The energy he shot at K'oko was twice as much as the output of a supermassive black hole! And he's not even tired! His strength must be unprecedented!"

            "Look, K'oko's gone! He must have been destroyed," Ryoko said.

            "Nothing could have ever withstood an attack like that, Ayeka said.

            Tenchi frowned. "That's only a sample of what I can do, K'oko!" he shouted. "Give up now or I shall be forced to use my entire strength!"

            "What?" Mihoshi asked. "K'oko's dead. Why is Tenchi talking to him?"

            "He's not dead. Not at all," Sasami said in a small voice.

            K'oko reappeared out of thin air. He seemed unharmed. "Destroy," he said again.

            Everyone except Tenchi gasped. Tenchi himself stood ready.

            K'oko reached forwards with one hand. A large purple energy ball formed in his grasp. He shot it at Tenchi. Tenchi crossed his arms over his chest and formed a barrier. The ball impacted the barrier and exploded in a small explosion. The smoke cleared to reveal Tenchi lying crumpled on the ground. He groaned and rolled over.

            "Tenchi!" everyone shouted.

            "He's stronger, than I thought," Tenchi gasped. He slowly got up, and fell down again. "If only I knew how to evolve. I know some things, but not enough. I have to try. I must try. I must evolve. That wasn't K'oko's strongest attack. I'd never survive if I don't evolve. I must evolve. I MUST!"

            Tenchi flashed brightly. His whole body glowed a dazzling white. He rose slowly into the air, the white light rolling into a sphere. 

            "_Homo sapien_ evolved to..." Tenchi's voice called out.

It spun faster and faster, and suddenly stopped. The sphere quickly took form, and landed on the ground. The glowing stopped, revealing Tenchi's evolved form.

"_Homo validus_."

Tenchi swung his arms round into a ready stance.

"Armour, activate," he called. The segmented armour covered his exposed metal skeleton. "Photon blade, activate. Energy shield, activate." Armour segmented around his right arm, giving him a raised and extended forearm, which reached just beyond his hand. An energy blade appeared out of the end of it, a metre in length. A small circular section of the forearm on his left arm shot out a little bit, and a circle of energy expanded from it, until its diameter was about the length of his arm. Tenchi adjusted his stance.

"You may have been stronger than me when I was a Supreme Saiyan," Tenchi said, "but I have evolved, and now I'm stronger than ever. Even though my second evolutionary form can't focus energy attacks, so I can't use any kameya-meya's against you, I can still attack you in other ways. You seem to do well against ranged energy attacks, but your size suggests that your hand-to-hand combat skills are limited. Let's see how limited they are!"

With that Tenchi rushed forwards, his shield defending him, his sword reaching behind him. When he got close to K'oko, having avoided or deflected all of his attacks with the energy shield, he swung the sword around and sliced him across the chest. It seemed to have no problem doing so. But Tenchi had forgotten something.

Large black spheres, the virus, came out of the cut. One hit Tenchi, sending him flying backwards until he rolled to a halt near the side of the cliff. The virus returned to K'oko and healed him, as it had done so before.

Tenchi got up and charged again. For a second time his attack was in vain. He stood up and deactivated the sword and shield.

"You may have the virus to protect you, K'oko, but you can't be invulnerable. Maybe my spatial energy missiles will do more than surface damage. Shoulder launchers, activate."

More armour segmented its way into two vertical cylindrical shapes on Tenchi's back. They moved out and round, resting on Tenchi's shoulders, as if on hinges. Handles snapped down from the bottom of the front of the barrels, which Tenchi grabbed.

"Missile launch!" he shouted. Two tear-shaped bolts of energy emerged from the ends of the barrels and shot at K'oko. K'oko merely reached a hand at them, and caught them. He clenched his fist, and when he opened it again, the shots were gone. Tenchi was shocked. One of the things he had learnt due to his evolution was that the energy missiles would vaporise anything within several tens of metres of the point of detonation, and that they detonated upon contact with anything. K'oko shouldn't have been able to stop them.

Meanwhile, T'rea stirred. He had regained consciousness. He tried to get up, but he was still too weak. The small rabbit-type creature collapsed onto Sasami, who was trying to take care of them.

"T'rea, don't move," the young girl said. "You're still too weak to do anything."

"But I have to," was the reply. "I need to help Tenchi."

"No, you need to rest. Tenchi's keeping K'oko busy. Neither of them are losing, so he should be able to carry on for a while, at least until you regain your strength."

T'rea sighed and relaxed himself.

"Keep it up, Tenchi," he said quietly. "We'll help you as soon as we can."

Back on the battlefield, the fight continued. Tenchi had activated an arm-mounted laser cannon, which he was using to shoot at K'oko. K'oko was firing blast after blast at Tenchi, all of which Tenchi was dodging. Then something unexpected happened. K'oko disappeared and reappeared behind Tenchi. Before he could react K'oko had shot Tenchi, sending him flying back near to where the girls and the two Sliders were. He struggled to get up, as he was clearly severely hurt.

R'na had awoken by this time. The fox watched Tenchi struggling.

"Tenchi, don't give up!" she called.

"Yes, we know you can do this!" T'rea shouted.

Tenchi looked at the Sliders. He found new determination, and stood up.

"You're right," he said. "I can do this. I can do anything I want. I've survived this far, so I can keep on doing so. I have to, for the Universe. For my family, and for my friends. I have to carry on, to save them. I must fight, and I must win."

Tenchi got to his feet and stood upright. His enhancements had deactivated automatically, leaving just the metal skeleton.

"I must win!" he shouted.

Tenchi glowed a brilliant white. The light expanded slightly, forming a new shape.

"_Homo validus_ evolved to..." Tenchi's voice called out.

The light faded, revealing a person, half man, and half machine. The left eye was half framed by a metal plate, which went back over his bald head to the peak of it. A few wires connected the back of his head to the robotic left forearm, the metal waist and hips, and the left metal knee. On other parts of the body small metal components blinked in different colours.  What looked like black body armour was attached tightly around his whole body, except his head. His overall appearance was similar to a Borg drone, only slightly more organic.

"_Homo supremus_. Supreme man."

--------------------

Tenchi had evolved again. Everyone present was astonished. Tenchi got into a ready stance. He stretched out one hand and formed a small energy blast. He smiled at this, and released it at K'oko, not with the aim of attacking him, but with the need of somewhere to release it. Sure enough, K'oko absorbed the blast, causing no damage to himself.

"Now that I'm able to form energy attacks again," Tenchi said, "you're in trouble."

He raised his hands above his head, ready to form a Masenko Blast.

"Masenko..." Tenchi said, the tone of his voice going higher. A huge sphere of blue energy grew quickly in his hands. He brought his hands together, causing the blast to shrink in size to that of a tennis ball. It grew brighter as it did so, and was so bright that no-one could even look near it. Tenchi swung his hands in front of him, moving the ball at the same time.

"Blast!" Tenchi yelled, releasing the glaring ball of energy. It flew at K'oko, tearing straight through his outstretched hand and into his chest. The ball suddenly expanded to its original size, enveloping K'oko in an intensely hot explosion. Tenchi had hopped back to the group with him, and formed a barrier to protect them. They were unscathed. K'oko, on the other hand, had disappeared.

"Is he dead?" Mihoshi asked.

To answer her question, K'oko reappeared in the same position as before.

"How is he surviving my attacks?" Tenchi asked angrily.

"He's sliding to another dimension," R'na said. "Nothing you do in one reality can affect another. He'll always be able to escape serious harm if he slides."

Tenchi stepped forwards.

"If he can avoid serious harm like that, I can still harm him superficially. Maybe if I damage him enough like that, he'll give up."

Tenchi reached out his right arm. A metal band on the forearm near the elbow expanded in length to just shroud Tenchi's arm. Another metal form snapped out of the end. A chaingun barrel. Tenchi aimed it at K'oko and started firing. The bullets it shot were completely ineffective. Tenchi lowered the barrel slightly, then raised it back up and continued firing. This time, however, bright green energy shots were being fired. These seemed to do a bit of damage against K'oko. Tenchi stopped firing and released some kind of energy grenade at him from the barrel. It impacted K'oko and blew up, causing moderate damage to his chest and arm. K'oko healed himself.

"Destroy," he hissed. He raised his hand and formed a large energy ball. He threw it at Tenchi. Tenchi deactivated his chaingun arm and crossed his arms in a defensive posture. The energy blast hit, and a large white explosion billowed out from the middle, encompassing both Tenchi and the onlookers. Luckily they weren't vaporised, as Tenchi had shielded an arc from the explosion, in which the girls and the Sliders were.

The explosion dissipated. Tenchi lay on the ground. The explosion had seriously hurt him. He flashed white, and his form returned to _homo sapien_. His long brown hair, long due to the Supreme Saiyan transformation, flowed out around him.

"Tenchi, are you alright?" Ryoko shouted.

Tenchi just groaned and stirred slightly.

"Tenchi, get up!" Ayeka shouted. "He's doing another attack!"

Tenchi looked up at K'oko. He was forming another purple energy blast in his hand.

"I can't stop it," Tenchi said quietly. "When I was Supreme Man I only just survived it, but now I have no chance. I can't even evolve again, because I still don't know how. I'm going to be destroyed."

The spectators were all shouting Tenchi's name.

"They're going to be destroyed as well." Tenchi sagged his head. "I'm sorry."

K'oko threw the energy blast at Tenchi, who still lay there.

"There's nothing I can do," Tenchi said. "I have failed."

The blast impacted.

--------------------

A large white explosion filled the entire area, encompassing everyone there, with the exception of K'oko. Tenchi hadn't stopped the blast, and now the explosion was felt by them all.

            The white detonation stopped expanding, and, as quickly as it had increased, it grew smaller until it surrounded Tenchi by a few metres. The onlookers were still alive, staring amazedly at the white ball in front of them. Residual wisps of what looked like white smoke slowly rose off them as they watched the ball twisting and contorting. A voice, Tenchi's, came from within.

"_Homo sapien_ evolved to _homo validus_. _Homo validus_ evolved to _homo supremus_. _Homo supremus_ evolved to..."

Suddenly, the white vanished to leave a figure.

            White wings, like dove wings, loosely surrounded the crouched figure. He wore an elaborate white robe with large red and gold patterns and trimmings. It fit fairly tightly to the body, which looked human. On his forehead was the universal symbol of eternity, above three splayed silver stripes running up his nose and diagonally up just above his eyes, similar to his Juraian battle markings. A gold cloth band went over the centre line of his head and came to an end in a point just before contact with this symbol. The other end tailed off between the ends of the wings where they joined the body. Aside from those things the figure seemed to be Tenchi.

            He stood up and folded the wings behind his back.

            "_Deus omnipotens_," he said. "All-Powerful God."

            Everyone just stared in sheer amazement.

            "I have evolved to the most powerful being ever. I am the Chojen One, the highest of Gods. I am Neo. I know everything. I am infinitely powerful."

            Tenchi turned to K'oko. "And I shall destroy you." Without moving, Tenchi summoned an energy blast and shot it at K'oko. It moved infinitely fast and blasted a hole through his chest, nearly separating his body. The virus spilled out of him. Tenchi concentrated and vaporised it. Even so, K'oko still managed to regenerate his body.

            Tenchi frowned. "Long range attacks are weak against you. Try this."

            With that Tenchi flew forward, his fists clenched and glowing with energy. His wings still stayed tucked behind his back. He swung back and was about to hit K'oko squarely in the face when he did something completely unexpected.

            K'oko ate him. He opened his mouth and let Tenchi fly in, before closing it again. The wisps of energy rising from those gathered there stopped and vanished. K'oko grinned.

            "Destroy."

            He slowly began to advance on the others. When he reached half way he yelled out in pain and clutched his head. He shook violently and squeezed his head in agony. Then it stopped. K'oko removed his arms to reveal a different face, kinder and bright. It wasn't just the face that had changed, but the whole body, changing to a yellow and pink striped colour. It seemed that the evil in him had gone.

            "The virus," T'rea said.

            "It's all gone," said R'na.

            "Thank you," K'oko said in a smooth calm voice. Then he started to disintegrate, blown apart by the gentle breeze from behind him. He completely vanished, this time for good.

            "It's all over," Sasami said quietly.

--------------------

Tenchi had not come back. Washu's hyper-dimensional computer couldn't find any trace of him, not his body nor his mind or soul. It was as if he had never existed. The Sliders had spent a week afterwards searching all the dimensions for him, but without success. Tenchi was gone.

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In the next episode of Continuum T:

            The search has ended, but still no sign of Tenchi. He seems to have completely gone. Devastated, the girls have left Earth, returning to wherever they felt they should be. But, back at the Masaki Shrine, something has happened, in "Because Every Story Needs a Happy Ending". Has Tenchi returned? If so, does he now know the secrets of the Universe? Will the girls find out, as there is now no way for anyone on Earth to travel through space? Will this story ever end? Find out in the next episode of Continuum T.


	11. Because Every Story Needs a Happy Ending

Previously on Continuum T:

            Two Sliders, the second most powerful beings in reality, have come to Tenchi for help. An evil Slider was determined to destroy all of reality, and Tenchi ended up being the last hope. Tenchi became a Supreme Saiyan, before evolving three times to his God form. He sacrificed himself by being swallowed by K'oko, in order to save existence. Now, Tenchi's friends have separated, no longer held together by his presence. I thought it was all very sad. I congratulate the author for his work over these last ten episodes. It's just a pity this is the last one.

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            Continuum T, Part XI – Because Every Story Needs a Happy Ending

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It was two weeks after the battle for reality. Yosho was practising his sword technique in the back garden. Nobuyuki sat outside, watching him. They had both heard of the news of Tenchi. In fact, everyone had, as the fight had been broadcast telepathically into the minds of every single living creature in reality. No-one was ever so well known as Tenchi, and his sacrifice had been seen by all. While everyone agreed that it was the most noble and selfless act they had ever known, this brought little comfort to his family.

            "Two weeks," Nobuyuki said, more to himself than Yosho.

            "Yes," Yosho replied.

            "It seems so quiet without them, doesn't it?"

            "It does."

            Yosho returned to his training, swinging the wooden sword around, slicing at opponents that weren't there. Then he leapt forwards, bringing it down in an arc.

            It hit something. Tenchi's head. Tenchi collapsed onto the floor, half unconscious. Yosho dropped his sword in shock, and Nobuyuki leapt up and darted over to him.

            "Oww," Tenchi said weakly. He blinked and saw his father. "Dad? What happened?"

            "Tenchi?" Nobuyuki's voice quivered. "Is it really you?"

            "I think so," Tenchi replied slowly. "But then again," he reached up to his head, where a large bruise was forming, "I'm not sure."

            "Tenchi..." Nobuyuki trailed off. He grasped Tenchi and hugged him hard.

            "Dad, stop it! I can't breathe!" Tenchi exclaimed. He was released, and stood up. He looked around.

            "Home." He frowned. "Where are the others?"

            "Tenchi, they've gone," Yosho said. "They thought you were dead. We all did."

            "Dead?"

            "Once K'oko ate you, we thought you had died," Yosho said quietly.

            "K'oko? How do you know him?"

            "Washu told us that a telepathic view of the battle was transmitted to everyone. Everywhere."

            "Everyone? They all saw me?"

            "Yes."

            "Then they all think I'm dead. I need to tell them otherwise. Where are they?"

            "If you're referring to the girls, they left about a week ago. Ayeka, Sasami and Mihoshi went to Jurai, Ryoko somewhere else and Washu sealed the door to her lab. There's no way we can contact them."

            "I can. One of the many things I learnt when I evolved to my God form was the instant translocation technique. I can travel anywhere instantly with it."

            "Wait, Tenchi." Nobuyuki put a hand on Tenchi's shoulder. "What happened? How did you survive?"

            "Well, when K'oko swallowed me, I found myself in a place full of black spheres..."

--------------------

The virus. It was all around him. Tenchi looked around as he continued to sink through it.

            Something was up ahead. A shadow, vaguely familiar. The haze became clearer. It was K'oko. More precisely, it was his first form, the one that had since digivolved twice to the creature he was now inside.

            "K'oko?" Tenchi asked. K'oko nodded in response. He gestured to his chest.

            "Is there something inside you?" Tenchi asked. "The virus! But what do you want me to do?"

            "Destroy," K'oko said, waving an arm to the side of him. Tenchi turned and looked. What looked like a DNA molecule comprised of black spheres spun slowly next to him.

            "Destroy the virus? That's all I have to do?" Tenchi asked. K'oko nodded.

            "Time to heal." Tenchi reached an arm out at the molecule and formed a small energy ball. He released it and obliterated the virus. The surroundings turned white...

--------------------

"...and the next thing I knew I was here, being hit on the head," concluded Tenchi.

            "Oh," Nobuyuki replied. "Then, are you really a God?"

            "Only when I evolve. And I can do that at will now. So, effectively, yes."

            "My son, a God," Nobuyuki reflected.

            "If you'll excuse me, I have to go to Jurai. I need to tell everyone I'm still alive." Tenchi stood up. "Unless you want to come with me, of course. Do you?"

            "No," the two men said in unity.

            "This is your task. You must face it," Yosho said.

            "Go get those girls back, Tenchi," Nobuyuki said. "Just don't be too long."

            Tenchi smiled and nodded. He raised a hand to his face and pointed two fingers straight at his forehead in a contemplative stance. He concentrated for a few seconds, and then dissipated.

--------------------

Tenchi reappeared in a large corridor. It was very high, so it was a part of somewhere important. In fact, it was a corridor of the Imperial Palace of the Royal Family of Jurai. Huge doors sparsely lined the walls, each leading to a large room. Exquisite gold and blue trimmed tapestries lined the bare walls, interspersed with oversized portraits of previous notable royalty. The ceiling disappeared into shadow, infrequently dotted with pools of light from intricate chandeliers, although the detail couldn't be distinguished from all the way down on the floor. The carpet was a rich noble red, soft and deep, absorbing slightly the feet that treaded on it.

            Tenchi looked around for a few seconds, surveying the corridor. No-one was around to see him, so he turned to the nearest door. He raised his fist and knocked three times, the crash of sound absorbed by the surroundings and seemingly small in the vastness. He heard sound from behind the door. It opened to reveal Lady Ayeka wearing a formal royal dress. Her expression was of complete shock as she stared at the impossible sight before her.

            "I'm sorry," Tenchi apologised.

            Ayeka stammered. "Wha, what?"

            "I'm sorry for causing you so much distress. Please forgive me, but I couldn't do anything about it."

            Ayeka hesitated, then shot forward and grabbed Tenchi and hugged him, crying out the tears she had held for the past two weeks. Tenchi put his arms around her for comfort, and kissed her on her head.

            "I'm back."

--------------------

            "How did you survive? We all thought you were dead." Ayeka had regained herself.

            "I know, and I'm sorry for making you think that. But before I tell you, I think I should get the others." Tenchi raised two fingers to his forehead and concentrated.

            "I'll be back very soon. Don't go anywhere." He dissipated.

            "Tenchi..." Ayeka started, but then she realised that Tenchi had gone again.

--------------------

            Ryoko and Ryo-Ohki were sitting in a bar. Ryoko had ordered a very alcoholic drink, which would hopefully help her to forget about how she came to be there, and was just about to start getting drunk, when she vanished. Not gradually, but instantly. Ryo-Ohki also disappeared. The drink Ryoko was just about to have fell from where her hand had been onto the seat, before falling and smashing on the floor.

--------------------

            Mihoshi was in her bedroom aboard the Yukinojo. She was trying to resume her normal work, but was obviously distracted by her thoughts of Tenchi. She stood up and went to get a snack. Unfortunately, while she was doing so, she bumped a large stack of comics. They would have fallen on her, but she instantaneously faded.

--------------------

            Sasami lay on her back in her bedroom, occupying herself with her boredom. Still, it was better than thinking about what had happened to Tenchi two weeks ago. Only the indent in her thick bedcovers remained as Sasami disappeared from her room.

--------------------

            Washu placed the molecular detonator on the surface in her lab. The bomb, designated Omega 13, was nothing more than a small round red ball, similar in size and appearance to a cricket ball. She turned and walked towards another experiment, an organic decompressor, when she immediately faded.

--------------------

            They all appeared in Ayeka's bedroom. Ayeka stared as they all appeared together.

            "What the..." Ryoko started.

            Tenchi materialised. There was a collective gasp from the girls as they caught sight of him.

            "As you can see, I'm not dead. I'm sorry for making you think so," he said. He braced himself as they grabbed him and cried.

--------------------

            "I wanted you all here," Tenchi said, "before I told you how I survived." He looked round at the girls. "Do you remember a few days ago?"

            The girls looked puzzled. Tenchi corrected himself. "Well, for you it was a couple of weeks ago. There was that whole incident with the heart disease. If you remember, after I was healed I told you I was sorry for scaring you. I also made a promise. I promised that I wouldn't die again. And I haven't. And now that I'm God, I can't die."

            "That's not it," Washu said. "How did you really survive?"

            Tenchi smiled. "You're right. When K'oko swallowed me, I went into him. I found the core of the virus, and destroyed it. The next thing I knew I was back home on Earth."

            "How?"

            "I'm the Chojen One. I said I knew everything, that I was omnipotent. I have control over all dimensions. I also have control over time. Because I was new to it, I didn't fully know how to control time, so I ended up slicing two weeks into the future."

            "Well," Sasami said, "we need to tell everyone that you're alright. Everyone else still thinks you're dead."

            "And no doubt there's going to be a parade in your honour," Ayeka added.

            "Great," Tenchi said. His animé counterpart would have a large sweat drop about now, but since this was real life he didn't. "I can't wait."

--------------------

            Ayeka looked into Tenchi's room. She wore a very formal elegant gown of purple, with red highlights. Tenchi was fidgeting with a bow tie.

            "You know, you would have thought that since I became God, I'd be able to work one of these things," he complained. "But I can't. Why is that?"

            "Tenchi, hurry up," Ayeka urged. "The ceremony is about to begin. If you're late, my father won't care if you're God or not. No-one, not even you should be late for this event."

            "But I can't decide, Ayeka," Tenchi said. "Should I go like this, or Supreme Saiyan, or what? What do you think?"

            "I don't know," was the reply. "Just choose quickly."

            "Alright then." A white sphere appeared around Tenchi, causing him to vanish in the glow. It pulsated slightly, and then vanished to reveal Tenchi in his God form. He looked at Ayeka.

            "This way I don't have to mess around with clothes," he said. "And don't worry about the '_homo sapien_ evolved to...' part. It's just for show. Besides," he grinned, "this'll be much more effective, don't you think?"

--------------------

            The city was full of people, despite the enormous size of it. It was literally packed. Everyone wanted to glimpse the man who saved reality, the most powerful man ever, their God. Balloons, streamers, flags and the like filled the remaining space. The royal band was playing the Juraian national concerto. The event was at least as special as crowning an Emperor of nine tenths of the galaxy, and had just as big a crowd.

            The Emperor of Jurai emerged from the palace. A huge uproar surged like a tidal wave and spread out from the centre. He approached the podium.

            "Citizens of Jurai," he announced, his voice amplified greatly to overcome the crowd's own noise. "Today is a very special day in Universal history. Today you will see, for the first time since his triumph, the man who has single-handedly saved reality from complete destruction. You all saw what happened, and so you all know why this man is so special. He has achieved the highest state of being, and now he is here to accept our most sincere gratitude and everlasting congratulations. I present to you," he said, gesturing towards the opposing building, "Mr Tenchi Neo Masaki!"

            The crowd erupted in an enormous cheer. The sound was completely deafening. The pitch rose even higher as the doors of the building opened and Tenchi stepped out. His wings were spread in a virtuous pose as he walked along the path between the building from which he had just emerged and the palace, the only visible bit of ground for many miles around. He proceeded slowly, accepting the applause graciously. He reached the palace steps and climbed them to the podium and the Emperor. To the side of them, Tenchi's friends applauded, Mihoshi, Ayeka, Washu, Sasami and Ryoko.

            "On behalf of the Galactic Empire of Jurai, I award you with this." He lifted up a medal, intricately and infinitely carved. He attached it to Tenchi's chest. "I also give you my promise that I shall do anything and everything I can to fulfil your requests, no matter what they may be. You may demand anything you want, and I shall grant it."

            He stepped back from the podium and Tenchi took up the position. He cleared his throat.

            "People..." he started, but was cut off by the huge pandemonium this word caused. He waited several minutes for them to calm down. "People," he started again. "I thank you for your gracious applause." He motioned for quiet as another upheaval started. "I thank you for this medal, and for everything you have done for me. And I thank my friends. I couldn't have done this without them."

            Tenchi paused. "A month ago I would never have guessed that I had this kind of power. Just over two weeks ago I was forced to use it. I could never have become a fraction as strong as I am today without my friends." He gestured towards the girls sat near him. "Mihoshi, the bravest person I have ever met. She helped us face Kagato a few months ago, even though she was by far weaker than him, no offence." Mihoshi smiled and shook her head, signifying that none was taken. "Sasami, by far the best cook I know." Sasami giggled. "She sometimes delivered some very good advice, often painfully." Sasami giggled again as she remembered several times when she had hit people with a frying pan to help make a point. "Ryoko, the most carefree person I have met." Ryoko just winked at him. "But she is also surprisingly sensitive and caring. Then Washu, probably the strangest person to exist." Washu wriggled her eyebrows at her 'guinea pig'. "We have both shared some 'interesting' times together, but they were still wholly enjoyable. And finally, Lady Ayeka. The kindest and most gentle woman I could know. Despite trying to kill me the first time we met, she is still one of my very closest friends." Ayeka blushed at this.

            "I know in my heart that any one of them would readily sacrifice themselves for me, and I also know that I would do the same for them. My friends are the most important thing to me in my life, and I know they like me just as much."

            Tenchi changed tack. "Becoming a God wasn't my greatest achievement. I wasn't even trying to do so. Indeed, I never imagined such a thing was even possible. No, my greatest achievement is surviving, day after day, year after year, even when things all seem to be going the wrong way. I have resisted the temptation to give up many times, and that is what I consider to be my greatest achievement. It is also yours," he said, referring to everyone there. "Every day is a new adventure, even if it may seem otherwise. And every night you complete that adventure, and a small part of you is immortalised in what you have done. You are your own greatest achievement. Remember that, and live long and prosper." Tenchi knew how clichéd that was, but he realised that no-one would notice, as they would never have heard of Star Trek.

            Tenchi stepped down from the podium to enormous applause and went over to his friends. He got them all to hold hands in a line and bow to the crowd.

            "So what are you going to ask for from the Emperor?" Ryoko shouted at Tenchi, all but drowned out by the cheering.

            "I can't think of anything," Tenchi replied. "I have everything I could want right here."

--------------------

            Tenchi was God. Not 'a' God, or 'some' God, or even 'our' God, but just God. If a prefix was wanted, try 'the' God. But he wouldn't want to be called that anyway. His name is Tenchi.

            The end, and after. He will always be there. Neo, the Choujen One. Tenchi.

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In the next episode of Continuum T:

            There will possibly be a bonus episode, to explain some things, as well as stating missing facts. I'll also throw in some closure, such as Tenchi's final decision, and the ultimate end of the prophecy, but I think Tenchi's choice should be obvious from what is written. It's the author's belief as well, but everyone is entitled to his or her opinion. And that's what will happen in the last episode of Continuum T, "Loose Ends". Until the next time, may the Goddesses guide you to your destination.


	12. Loose Ends

Previously on Continuum T:

            Everything happened, really. Tenchi advanced to a Supreme Saiyan, evolved to his God form, and was awarded the highest recognition from every major planet in the galaxy. At the moment he's at home in Okayama, living his same life on Earth. Surprisingly, the girls haven't changed much knowing that Tenchi is now God, but he doesn't really seem to care that he is, so I guess it's all right then.

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            Continuum T, Part XII – Loose Ends

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            Calm. Nothingness. Serene.

            Space distorted as a being appeared in emptiness. Three other beings also appeared shortly afterwards.

            "Why have you called us here?" the tall blue haired woman asked.

            "We must discuss your situations," God replied.

            "What about them?" the red haired woman asked.

            "You three. I know all about your arguments. I know you are rivals."

            "So?" the third woman asked, she with light brown hair.

            "Why?"

            The women paused. There was a perfectly valid reason. They just hadn't had to explain it recently though.

            "I'll help you. It's a power struggle, right?" God asked.

            The women nodded.

            "We want to know who the strongest of us three are," Tokemi said.

            "Maybe if you tell us, the rivalry will dissipate," Washu said.

            "Ah, but it won't, will it?" Tenchi said. "You'll just carry on fighting anyway, to try and prove that each of you is the strongest."

            "But who is the strongest of the Trinity?" Tsunami asked.

            "None are," Tenchi said bluntly. "You are all equally relevant."

            "Relevant?" Tokemi asked.

            "But why is relevance an indication of strength?" Washu asked.

            Tenchi looked round at the three goddesses in front of him. "You do not remember how you came to exist at all," he said. "But the fact is, I created you."

            "But you were only born about eighteen years ago," Washu said.

            "Maybe I should be more specific. I created you in the sense that you were created in what in the main dimension is the past. However I haven't actually done it yet. In my sense, I will create you, and the Multiverse, sometime in my future."

            "But how is that possible?" Tsunami asked.

            "I have mastery of time," Tenchi said. "At some point in the future I shall go back through time and create existence, and of course, you."

            "But what did you mean by relevance?" Tokemi asked.

            "When I shall created you, I knew of your rivalry," Tenchi said, shamelessly splitting tenses. "So I shall made you equal, both in strength and relevance. The thing is, life can only exist when the three parts of life exist. The soul, the mind and the body all must be present for life to be. The essences of each of these three are inside you. As long as you are still existing, thus so can life too exist."

            "What does all this have to do with our strengths?" Washu asked.

            "Washu," Tenchi said, looking at the red haired adult woman in front of him. "Surely at least you can follow this through. If one of you were weaker than the others, then due to the rivalry they would have been destroyed. The essence inside them would also have gone, so removing all life within reality. If there was no life, you wouldn't exist, and then neither would I."

            "And so you couldn't have become God, gone back in time and created the Multiverse," Washu said, realisation dawning.

            "And everywhen would have instantly disappeared in a puff of impossibility," Tenchi said. "That is why I created you all equal: so that reality wouldn't never existed."

            There was a silence. Tsunami spoke up.

            "What will you do with us?" she asked.

            "I'm going to ask you a question," Tenchi replied. "Do you still want the task of retaining the essences of life? I can create more deities to continue in your stead. You may become humans, to live normal lives, or do whatever you want. Do any of you want that?"

            There was a silence in the darkness, inconceivably lit, despite the entire dimension being only ten metres in radius and completely empty, aside from the four deities.

            "No," Tsunami said.

            "Nor do I," Tokemi said.

            Washu was slow to respond. "Can I keep my existence as it is now?" she asked.

            "You have done for twenty thousand years, and it hasn't stopped reality from ever existing," Tenchi said.

            "Then I choose that," Washu said. "The majority of my powers can remain in the gems for all I care."

            "Very well," Tenchi said. "You know, you two can do that as well," he said to Tsunami and Tokemi.

            "We know," Tokemi said.

            "We would rather stay as we are."

            "Okay then. Now promise me you won't try any more fights," Tenchi said.

            "We give our word by the Trinity," the three said in unison.

            "Fine. I believe you." Tenchi moved back. "You may leave."

            They did so, the void filling in the space they had been occupying.

            Tenchi disappeared.

            Calm. Nothingness. Serene.

--------------------

            Sometime later, Tenchi woke up. He slowly opened his eyes, processing each small area he saw individually. After a few seconds he registered blue. Now Tenchi knew that blue shouldn't be there. If he was right, there should be a ceiling behind that blue. He tilted his head slightly and saw a nose. It was a nice nose, not too showy, but nicely understated. Two eyes were framing this nose a bit higher up. There was white, as with most eyes, surrounding a yellow oval, like a cat's. There were many billions of people with yellow eyes in the galaxy, but he only knew of one who would be blocking his view of the ceiling.

            "Morning, Ryoko," Tenchi managed, stifling a yawn, at least until he dragged his hand over his mouth.

            "Good morning, Tenchi," Ryoko smiled. She moved away slightly to let Tenchi sit stiffly up.

            Tenchi did so, and shook his head, clearing his head of sleep, at least temporarily. He performed his daily stretch of his arms, and pulled aside his covers to swing his legs to the side of his bed. Ryoko was carefully watching all of this. Tenchi looked up at her, now able to see everything in his range of vision at once.

            "Do you mind, Ryoko?" he asked. "I need to get dressed."

            "Oh, I don't mind if you do that," Ryoko replied, still smiling.

            "Very funny. Out," he said, jerking his head towards the door.

            "If you insist," Ryoko said, pretending to pout. "I'll be right outside if you need help with anything."

            Ryoko drifted backwards and out of the door. Tenchi stood up and walked shakily over to his wardrobe, where he pulled out a clean set of clothes for the day. He pulled on the clothes and opened the door, only to see a red bolt of energy fly straight past his nose. Blue electricity crackled past him from the other direction.

            Tenchi knew better than to break up the fight. He walked straight through the electricity towards the stairs. The sparking strikes distorted themselves around Tenchi as he walked through, pushed aside by the invisible energy barrier Tenchi was creating. Tenchi proceeded downstairs and walked into the kitchen.

            "Oh, good morning, Tenchi!" Sasami greeted.

            "Morning, Sasami," Tenchi said. He poked his head over her shoulder and looked at what she was cooking. "What's for breakfast?" he asked, reaching a hand towards the pan.

            Sasami slapped it with a serving spoon. "You're going to have to wait," she said. "You're not getting breakfast early. Wait until it's ready."

            Tenchi sighed. "But I'm hungry," he moped playfully. "Why can't I have something to eat?"

            "Because you'll spoil your appetite," Sasami said.

            "I can never eat too much of your cooking, Sasami," Tenchi said, nestling into her neck and squeezing her waist.

            Sasami giggled and tapped his head with the spoon. "Stop that," she said. "I need to put breakfast out."

            "Okay," Tenchi sighed. He released her and picked up some plates, which he placed around the table. He helped with the rest of the preparation, and Sasami called everyone to breakfast.

--------------------

            The usual events occurred at breakfast. Ryoko and Ayeka were trying to annoy each other, in between trying to get Tenchi's attention. Sasami was talking with Tenchi about cooking techniques around the galaxy. Washu was quiet, as usual. Mihoshi was helping herself to the food. She stood up to get something from the kitchen, unaware that her clothes had become caught underneath her plate, so when she quickly stood up, her plate went flying, along with all the food on it. They all paused in mid-flight and moved back onto the plate, which rested back down in her place.

            "Thanks, Tenchi," Mihoshi said. She went out to the kitchen.

            Tenchi watched as she went, and caught sight of Washu. She was looking at Tenchi, which in itself wasn't unusual, but there was something about her look. Tenchi knew what it was though, and nodded at her. Washu just nodded back, smiling. Tenchi had let her stay who she was, and she was grateful to him for it.

            "Tenchi, what shall we do today?" Ryoko asked.

            "Today, I thought we'd go to Jurai," Tenchi said. "I've got something I want to ask your father, Ayeka."

            "You've decided what you want from daddy?" Ayeka asked.

            "That's right," Tenchi replied. "When should we go?"

--------------------

            About eleven o'clock as it happened. Tenchi had instantly translocated everyone to the planet, inside Ayeka's bedroom, where they wouldn't be noticed.

            They all went into the Throne Room. The Emperor of Jurai and his two wives were there. Currently they were speaking with a high official of the Jurai-GXP Confederate. Apparently they were near the end of their meeting, as the official bowed and left while they were walking through the room.

            The Emperor spotted Tenchi and the group and stood up.

            "Hello, Tenchi," he greeted.

            "Hey," Tenchi said. "You know Ayeka and the others, right?"

            Sasami stifled a giggle.

            "I'm just kidding," Tenchi said, waving an arm dismissively. "I'm actually here to see if you can do something for me."

            "I said before, just name it," the Emperor said.

            "Well, I was wondering if we could name our baby after you," Tenchi said.

            There was a shocked silence. The Emperor's expression changed from pleasure to shock, then to anger, without actually moving his muscles.

            "I'm sorry. That's just a joke," Tenchi said. Behind him Sasami tried her best to contain a laugh. "You know I wouldn't do that to your daughter."

            "Did you come here for a reason, or are you just here to joke around?" the Emperor asked, sitting down again.

            "No, honestly, there is something I want to ask you," Tenchi said. He turned round. "Hey, girls? If you don't mind, this is a private discussion."

            "Sure, Tenchi," Ryoko said.

            "I guess we'll just go somewhere else then," Washu said.

            "See ya, Tenchi!" Mihoshi said.

            "We'll just go and do something else while we wait for you," Ayeka said.

            Sasami didn't say anything, as she was too busy trying not to laugh. Tenchi just winked at her, causing her to redouble her self-control as she hurried outside.

            "I'm going to marry one of them," Tenchi said, mainly to himself. He turned the Emperor and Empresses.

            "Sir, and ladies, there are a couple of things I want to ask you. It involves myself and my friends."

            "What is it?" Funaho asked.

            "Well, before that, just know that this isn't definite. I may do it, or I may not, so this is just to tell myself that I can if I want."

            "What?" the Emperor asked.

            "Ayeka and Sasami. I want to know if it would be okay for me to marry them."

            Misaki stood up and hugged Tenchi. "Oh, I'm so proud! My little boy is going to get married! And to my daughters as well!"

            "Please remember what I said, mom," Tenchi said. The family terms were more symbolic than anything. It was easier to say that than 'great grand-nephew' or 'great grand-aunt'.

            "He's right," Funaho said. "He just wants to know if it's alright for him to do so."

            "Right," Tenchi said. "I appreciate the affection, but can you get off now?"

            Misaki released him and sat back down. Tenchi took a much-welcome breath of air and continued.

            "So, would it be alright with you?" Tenchi asked.

            "I think so," the Emperor said. He looked to his wives for confirmation of his decision. "Yes. You have our permission and best wishes to marry Ayeka or Sasami."

            "Thank you," Tenchi said, bowing. "Can I therefore assume that it would be alright if I decided to marry any of the other girls?"

            "Yes, you may," the Emperor said. "I can see that you care for them a lot. You have our blessing to marry any of them."

            "Thank you," Tenchi repeated, bowing again. "I just wanted to make sure that it would be alright, you see, so that if I did decide to marry any of them, I would know that I had your support."

            "It's the least we can do," the Emperor said. "After all, you did save the Universe from destruction."

            "Ah," Tenchi said. "Is that why you're saying yes? Just because I'm God?"

            "Why should that make a difference?"

            "I want to know if I can marry any of the girls," Tenchi said. "I don't want to be able to do so just because of something I have done. I want you to tell me if I can based on how you would feel about it, not on what you think about me. Please, I want an honest decision."

            "Oh, well," the Emperor stopped. "In that case we need to discuss this."

            "Okay. I'll just go then." Tenchi turned to go.

            "Tenchi..."

            Tenchi turned his head back. Funaho had called him.

            "We'll let you know soon," she said.

            Tenchi nodded his head towards her and went out.

--------------------

            Ayeka was in her room, and the others were walking through the Palace gardens. Tenchi went to see Ayeka first.

            "Did you get what you wanted?" she asked.

            "I'm told I'll know soon," Tenchi replied.

            "It must have been something serious, then, if they're thinking about it that much," Ayeka said.

            "Oh, it is."

--------------------

            They caught up with the others in the gardens as they were walking back.

            "So what did you ask, Tenchi?" Mihoshi asked.

            "I asked if he could abdicate the Throne and let me be Emperor instead," Tenchi said. He grinned when he saw their reactions. "I'm just kidding," he said.

            Sasami was busy trying to breath without releasing her breath, and so her laughter.

            "Tenchi, you're doing a lot of kidding recently," Ryoko said. "What's up with that?"

            "Nothing really," Tenchi said. "It's just that I realised that the best part of life is laughter. I'm just enjoying myself, and entertaining Sasami at the same time."

            Sasami couldn't hold her breath any longer. She let it all out and gasped for air between laughing.

            "See what I mean? She found what I said funny, at least."

--------------------

            They had returned to the Palace and were relaxing in what could vaguely be approximated to a lounge, if a lounge was anything like the size of several entire houses and had ridiculously expensive furniture dotted around.

            Tenchi went up to Sasami and whispered into her ear. "Hey Sasami. Do you want to have some fun?"

            "Like what, Tenchi?" Sasami whispered back. They were far enough away to not be heard at all.

            "Do you want to play a trick on Ayeka?"

--------------------

            Tenchi and Sasami went into an adjacent room. No-one else was there, so they spoke normally.

            "Do you want to turn invisible?" Tenchi asked.

            "Really? How?"

            "Well, I'm going to do it for us, but once I have we can play tricks on the others."

            "What kind of tricks?"

            "I don't know. Maybe holding things up in front of them. They'll look as if they're floating."

            Sasami giggled. "Or what about if we make spooky noises? That'll scare them!"

            Tenchi laughed. "Hey, why not? Okay, I'm going to make us invisible. You're still going to be able to see me and everything else, but everything invisible you see will have a bit of a glow. Ready?"

            Sasami nodded. Tenchi waved his arm, and the two faded. As Sasami saw it, a glow appeared around Tenchi. Tenchi looked at Sasami.

            "We're invisible now," Tenchi said. "Shall we?" He gestured towards to the door to the other room.

            Sasami nodded again and they went into the other room, where the others were still relaxing. Tenchi gestured for Sasami to be quiet, and sneaked over to Ayeka. He blew gently on her hair. Ayeka stirred slightly. Tenchi blew again, harder this time, and Ayeka turned round and looked straight at him.

            Actually, she looked straight through him. She was trying to find the open window that was letting the breeze in. She couldn't see one, so she turned back round.

            That's when Tenchi brushed his hand against her cheek.

            Ayeka yelped and jumped out of her chair, backing away quickly. The other three looked at her in curiosity.

            Sasami went to Ryoko and tugged her hair slightly. Ryoko also stood up and faced her chair.

            Tenchi went over to the chair Ayeka was sitting on, a large red velvet heavy-looking chair and picked it up by the leg. He moved it around slowly, giving the impression that it was floating. He slowly moved it towards Ayeka, who was staring at it in fear.

            A set of doors opened and one of the servants walked in. He bore a message from the Emperor.

            "Excuse me, but I'm looking for Lord Tenchi," he said, before spotting the floating chair. He froze to the spot.

            Tenchi reappeared, ending the invisibility, holding the chair up. He put it down and walked over to the servant. Sasami, now also visible, was laughing hard.

            "You have a message for me?" Tenchi asked.

            "Y, yes, sir," the servant stammered.

            "Well?"

            "The Emperor says 'Yes'," the servant said, stuttering badly.

            "Thank you, Gendo," Tenchi said.

            Gendo bowed quickly and deeply, before backing out of the room as quickly yet politely as possible.

            "Have a nice day, Gendo," Tenchi called after him. He looked at the others, who were still frozen in shock. "What?"

--------------------

            Everyone was now back on Earth. Tenchi was in his room, busy contemplating the one most important thing he had realised since his evolution. It was his choice. He now knew exactly what, and who, it was. At the moment, he was thinking about when to tell everyone.

            Tenchi sensed something, distracting him. He looked round his room. Whatever he could sense was in there with him. He used his foresight to look into the future slightly, to see what he was going to say.

            "Oh, it's you, Aki," he said. Due to the facts of time, he knew that was the right thing to say, since he had seen himself saying it just now.

            Hello, Tenchi, Aki communicated.

            "I see you're still following me round," Tenchi said.

            I'm just interested in you, especially now that you've become a god.

            "Correction, Aki," Tenchi said. "I am The God."

            Fair enough, Aki said. So how is it?

            "It's okay, I guess," Tenchi said idly. "Sure, I have unlimited powers now, but most of the time I don't even use them. I guess I just like my life like it is. But how are you?"

            Dead.

            "Aside from that. What have you been up to since I killed you?"

            I killed myself, remember? Anyway, I've just been floating round here, enjoying the view, that sort of thing.

            "I take it you've had plenty of time to reflect on your actions."

            Oh yes, Aki said. As a matter of fact, I've decided to become good. I've managed to focus the evil inside me and encase it, locking it up forever.

            "Can I just say that you are nothing at the moment? You have no body to lock up your evil in."

            In my mind, then. A body is just a vessel, after all.

            "That's true."

            It's the mind that determines good and evil.

            "Again, true. It is the consciousness that determines the self, after all."

            That's very nice, but can we get off the spiritual enlightenment, please? It's not really my kind of thing.

            "Nor mine, actually. I have all the enlightenment there is."

            A silence followed this. Tenchi was now following Aki's mind directly, his eyes moving around the room to follow the nothingness position of Aki's mind, from where he existed. He spoke up.

            "So why did you suddenly decide to talk to me now?" he asked.

            I just wanted to get in touch, Aki said. You know, to let you know how I'm doing and all.

            Tenchi thought for a moment, sensing Aki's mind. "You want your body back, don't you?"

            What?

            "Don't bother lying. Even you should know better than to lie to God," Tenchi said, grinning.

            Boy, you're really enjoying this God stuff, aren't you? More publicity and rewards than you know what to do with.

            "Get real. I've already given most of my rewards to charity, and as for the publicity, so what? I had a lot of that as the Masked Man a year ago. It's basically like that."

            Of course. I believe you.

            "But seriously, you do want your body back, don't you?" Tenchi asked.

            Can you do that?

            "Sure. It's only a little trip back in time to retrieve your body, after all. Remember when I was at my second evolutionary state, and your body was lying on the ground? I pointed my hand at it and it disappeared."

            I thought you vaporised it.

            "No. I said later, when I was fighting K'oko, that my robot form couldn't focus energy attacks, which is why I was hopping around for a while trying to slash him with a sword."

            So what happened to my body?

            "I took it," Tenchi said. "At some point in the future I go back in time and whisk it away back to the present."

            There was a short disturbance in the middle of the room, and Tenchi's God form appeared, crouching in front of Aki's beaten up body. The God form looked up at Tenchi.

            "Here you go, Aki," the God form said. "One body, just as it was after you died."

            "See?" Tenchi said. "I told you I'd do it."

            "Yeah, you go now," the God form said. "You know what to do."

            "Okay," Tenchi said. "See you later."

            "You mean, be me later."

            "And I'll remember to say that," Tenchi grinned. He glowed white, and evolved to his God form. He raised two fingers to his forehead in the instant translocation stance and vanished.

            "So here you go, Aki," the remaining Tenchi said. "One body, just as you remember it."

            What happened there?

            "Well, I can see that some people might not be temporally adept, so I'll explain. The past me, who you were talking to when I arrived, went back into the past, picked up your body and came back. I'm the one you were talking to a minute ago. I just came back before I left to have some fun."

            But doesn't that cause a paradox?

            "Not when you're God, it doesn't," Tenchi said. "Everything worked out, and nothing was changed. It's all the same in the end. But enough about time. Here's your body."

            You mean you really are going to give me my body back?

            "Why wouldn't I? I trust you when you say that you're good now. But as always there is one catch."

            What catch?

            "How do you feel about haloes?"

            You mean, the ring of light that some religions have over the main people?

            "That's it. It actually symbolises that the wearer has died, but has been allowed to keep their body."

            Who allows it?

            "God. So, me."

            So, what do I do?

            "Just wait for me to heal your body," Tenchi said. "Then position yourself somewhere inside your brain. I'll link you from there."

            Tenchi placed a hand over Aki's chest, and the wounds disappeared. He looked up.

            "You do want your arm back, right?" he asked.

            Of course.

            "Just checking." He returned to healing. The missing limb faded in from nowhere. After a few seconds the body was as good as alive.

            "Now just hop into your brain. You'll feel a tingling feeling, and then you can open your eyes. Breathing and everything will be automatic."

            Tenchi sensed Aki move his essence into his head. Tenchi closed his eyes and concentrated, his arms pointed towards the body.

            Aki opened his eyes. At first the light was overwhelming, but he quickly adapted. He looked at Tenchi.

            "Hey there, Aki," Tenchi said. "Do you need any help?"

            "I do remember how to get up," Aki said, before realising that he had spoken without trying to remember how.

            "Since you just spoke, I'll leave you to it." Tenchi stood up and moved away from him. He glowed white and his form changed slightly. He had regressed to his normal human form.

            Aki stood up, quite quickly given that he hadn't moved his body for weeks. He walked over to Tenchi's bed and sat down. He cocked his head as a noise emerged from him, a sort of low rumbling sound.

            "It's not surprising that you're hungry," Tenchi said. "Come on. I'm sure Sasami can get you something to eat. Trust me, she's a great cook."

--------------------

             Aki couldn't agree more. He had literally inhaled the small meal Sasami had made for him. She was scared at first, but Tenchi had explained that it was all right, so she made up a snack for him. In between mouthfuls Aki was relating his life up until he met Tenchi.

            Aki had been born on the planet Vegeta, a warrior planet, to a surrogate family. At the age of six he began to show signs of serious spiritual energies. Obviously he had some irrelevant abilities earlier than this, such as being able to talk from birth, but once he began to release his spiritual energies and use them to their maximum, he advanced rapidly through training regiments, becoming ever stronger.

            At the age of fourteen he was the strongest on the planet. Having very recently tapped into his Saiyan transformation, he quickly became bored with one easy victory after another in fights, and so he stowed away on a freighter ship to another planet, Endor 3. It was a cold snowball of a planet, with only a small mining colony near the upper pole. Aki spent the next eighteen months training against the harsh temperatures and inhabitable conditions, during which time he ascended to a Super Saiyan. When he realised that he was now the strongest fighter in the galaxy, barely including the entire Jurai Royal Family, he made his way to the core planet of Jurai, central hub of the whole galaxy. There he learned of Tenchi, the unknown hero who had defeated Kagato on his home turf. He quickly learned more about this person, and later decided to find him and challenge him.

            Aki hopped from planet to planet, edging closer to Earth. He competed in tournaments to win money that funded his journey, and secretly advanced to the status of a Hyper Saiyan. Soon he had earned enough to persuade a friendly owner of a Midget-class ship to take him to Earth. The journey was one way only, as the captain didn't want the Galaxy Police's attention. The Midget dropped Aki off in the middle of Asia, where there were no people to witness the landing. Instead of flying straight to Tenchi, even though he knew where Tenchi was, he suppressed his energy and hiked to China. It was a long hike, and took him several weeks, but he had endured worse. He arrived in Hong Kong, where he booked a plane ride to Tokyo, Japan. He arrived there about two days before he met Tenchi. From there he walked to Okayama, and then to Tenchi's house, taking offers of rides along the way.

            "So you've been around, huh?" Sasami asked.

            "Oh, you know, some places," Aki replied, polishing off his meal.

            "Have you ever been to Kormanet?" Sasami asked. "It's a beautiful planet. All the coastlines are beaches. It's great fun."

            "Kormanet," Aki mused. "No, I don't remember it."

            "I'm sure I could take us," Tenchi said.

            "Oh yes!" Sasami said excitedly. "Let's make it a weekend trip. The sunrise is so great."

            "Sure," Tenchi said.

            "I take it you've been out a lot, visiting other planets since you became a God," Aki said.

            "The God," Tenchi corrected again. "And not really. We've only been to Jurai, and only once, a couple of days ago."

            "Oh. Well, that was fantastic, Sasami," Aki praised. "I can honestly say this is the best food I have ever tasted, even though I've never heard of apples before."

            "They only grow on Earth, you know," Tenchi said. "Just like the Jurai Trees only grow on Jurai, or wherever their owner has allowed them to root."

            "That's interesting," Aki said.

            "Actually, did you know that Sasami here makes the best food in the quadrant?" Tenchi asked.

            "No I don't," Sasami said. "You just made that up."

            "Honestly, I didn't. I know everything about food, and I know that you are one of the top five best cooks in the whole galaxy. Actually, you're third. But third's still very impressive."

            "No wonder that was so nice," Aki said. "Thank you again."

            It was at about this exact moment that Ryoko walked in, backwards, shouting at Ayeka not to change the television channel. She turned round and froze.

            "Hello, Ryoko," Tenchi and Aki said together. They looked at each other and laughed.

            Ryoko just stayed there.

            "Ryoko, you remember Aki, right?" Tenchi said. "I gave him his body back, so he's as good as alive again."

            Ryoko tried to say something, but her stuttering wouldn't let her.

            "Don't worry, I'm good now," Aki said, standing up. "I promise I won't try and kill anyone again." He offered her his hand to shake.

            Ryoko pulled away and moved towards Tenchi. "Tenchi, why is he here? I thought you killed him," she whispered.

            "He did," Aki said.

            "Ryoko, I trust him," Tenchi said. "I can see straight through anyone, and I know he means it. I gave him his body back because he asked me nicely. Now be nice to him."

            Aki still had his hand raised in friendship. Ryoko hesitantly took it. Aki brought her hand to his mouth and kissed it. A blur followed this, and Aki's head jerked sideways, revealing an appearing red hand-shaped mark.

            "Boy, that was hard," Aki said, laughing slightly.

            "Ryoko," Tenchi hissed.

            "He shouldn't have done that. He knows I'm yours," Ryoko said, glaring at the clone.

            "He was just being polite," Tenchi said.

            "True," Aki said. "I'm as polite as they come."

            "Excuse me?" Tenchi said. "Here's me, knowing everything at all about manners."

            "But do you know how to apply them?" Aki asked.

            "Hey, how much do you want your body?" Tenchi asked jokingly. "Just watch it."

--------------------

            Aki met the others, with conversations on about the same lines. They all talked for a while, getting to know him, until it grew dark. Then, of course, it was time to go to sleep.

            "Sleep?" Aki asked. "But you're God."

            "Doesn't mean I don't need sleep," Tenchi replied, removing his shirt. He threw it into a clothesbasket in a corner of his room. Aki was sharing with him for that night. "In this form I'm still human, despite what you might think."

            "I guess. I don't know why I thought that."

            "Never mind. Get to sleep now. You're going to have to get up early to avoid the explosions."

            "Explosions?"

            "You'll see," Tenchi said, climbing into his bed. "Have you decided what you want to do with your new body yet?"

            Aki sat on his own bed, specially made by Washu. "I don't know," he sighed. "Maybe I could go cruise the galaxy for a bit. You know, visit all these places I've heard about, like Kormanet."

            "Sounds good," Tenchi said. "But you're still going to have to get up early."

            "Yes, you mentioned the explosions. What do you mean?"

--------------------

            It was early the next morning. The sun had not yet risen over the mountains, so all was still dark. In Tenchi's room, the God and his clone were sleeping. Tenchi's bed had been rotated and Aki's bed moved in, so both bed heads lay against the wall previously occupied by the side of Tenchi's bed. Aki turned and ended up on his back.

            Two golden eyes flashed in the darkness. Ryoko had come for a visit. She moved up to the first bed and looked down at the figure on it. She then turned round and looked at the other figure on the other bed. Since Tenchi had healed Aki, including all of his old scars, they now looked identical. Obviously there were a few differences, but none distinguishable in this low light. Aki's halo lay through the wall, as it was only for show and wasn't physically made of anything, so she couldn't see it to tell which was which. Ryoko looked between the two and couldn't make up her mind. She shrugged and faded out.

--------------------

            Morning occurred, loosely defined as the moment when the sun appears above the horizon and slowly begins to make its way bravely across the sky. Light shone across the treetops, across the lake and over a large house illogically situated on the remote side of the aforementioned lake. At least on the other side, about two miles away was the edge of the local town, but no. This house was surrounded by mountains and a lake. Oh, and trees. Lots of trees.

            This house happened to be the Masaki house.

            And as happened most mornings, when the sun begins to spread its warmth to the area, explosions threatened to destroy the house. Even now, a small red beam of light smashed a window and exploded just outside, causing cracks in the two adjacent panes.

--------------------

            Aki woke up suddenly, to find himself surrounded by loud bangs and the sounds of various breaking items, all mingled together in a symphony of unpleasant noises. He sprang from his bed and formed a small ball of energy in his hand, looking round for the cause.

            Tenchi walked in. He had just taken a shower, and was coming back into his room, drying his hair. He barely had time to raise an absorber field in front of him before Aki shot him with his energy.

            "Sorry," Aki said.

            "I saw it coming," Tenchi replied. "I still trust you. Remember what I said about the explosions? It's only Ryoko and Ayeka fighting."

            "That's them? I didn't think the princess fought."

            "Oh yes," Tenchi said. "You should see her when she's annoyed with Ryoko. This is kind of a daily routine."

            "But why do they fight at all?"

            "Exercise. Because of me. Habit. Basically they used to fight over who was best suited for me, and even though I've said I love them all, they haven't stopped this."

            "Okay," Aki said slowly. He looked through the closed door, sensing what was going on. Tenchi turned and looked in the same direction.

            "Do you want me to get them to stop?" Tenchi asked. "It's hazardous to anyone else's life if they try and stop them, but they'd probably listen to me."

            "You don't have to," Aki said, "but I'd feel much safer if you did."

            "And here I thought you were a Hyper Saiyan," Tenchi said. "Does that mean nothing compared to two angry women?"

            "Could you get them to stop please? I'm not as powerful as you. I don't want to have to walk round ready to fight all the time. I told you I'm past that now."

            "Okay then. Since you did help me evolve, I guess it's only fair."

--------------------

            Tenchi and Aki walked downstairs. Aki had borrowed some of Tenchi's clothes, since the set he was wearing when he fought Tenchi was basically ribbons. From a distance of more than two metres, they looked identical, both in appearance and manner, aside from Aki's halo. They were sharing a private joke as they descended. They reached the bottom and Tenchi walked between the two fighting women. Aki drifted along behind, and stood behind the couch.

            "Good morning, Tenchi!" Ryoko greeted enthusiastically, wrapping her arms around him.

            "Ryoko, remove your arms from around him this instant!" Ayeka demanded. "Good morning, Lord Tenchi."

            "Good morning, princess, pirate," Tenchi said alternately. "Listen, Aki here doesn't feel overly comfortable with you fighting, so could you give it a rest, please?"

            "That's his problem," Ryoko said, still not comfortable with the clone.

            "I have to agree," Ayeka said. "He tried to kill you less than a month ago. Are you sure you should be trusting him this much so soon?"

            "Ryoko, Ayeka, I trust him, but for more reasons than simply because he said so. At the end of his life he was becoming good. I could see it. Now I can sense his entire mind easily. I know exactly what he thinks when I do, and I know there are no evil thoughts in his mind now."

            "You didn't tell me you could read my mind," Aki said.

            "Sorry. It must have slipped mine. Anyway, you two, please stop fighting or I'll have to restrain you. I want to make Aki feel comfortable here."

            "Restrain us? Tenchi, no-one can restrain the great space pirate Ryoko," the pirate said.

            "Tenchi, you cannot do this. As a member of the Jurai Royal Family I am not allowing you to do such things," Ayeka said.

            "Oh Ryoko, I can very easily hold you," Tenchi said. "Ayeka, please stop fighting. There's enough mess as it is."

            "No chance," Ryoko said. "We're just warmed up." She charged at Ayeka, but before she had moved more than a metre she hit a barrier. She backed away into another one. She quickly discovered that she was trapped within a box of such invisible walls. The overall effect was one of a mime, which actually was quite disturbing, so Tenchi made the barriers semi-transparent, like slightly misty glass.

            "Tenchi, let me out," Ryoko whined.

            "I said I'd restrain you and I did," Tenchi replied smoothly. "Do you doubt my threats now?"

            Ryoko shook her head and continued hitting the screen in front of her.

            "Good. But no more fighting, okay? Okay?"

            Ryoko nodded, and the barriers disappeared. She moved to the nearest chair and slumped down, thoroughly unhappy, although she was probably just putting it on.

            "Is it always like this?" Aki whispered to Tenchi.

            "Pretty much," Tenchi hissed back. "They don't seem to mind that I'm God now."

            "Fair enough."

--------------------

            The prophecy had come true. The boy who rose from nowhere to defeat a cell, and then again, receiving a Key and destroying a galactic tyrant, facing and overcoming himself, and finally proceeding to the final evolutionary state. Unfortunately, that was the end of the scripts, and Tenchi knew it. He recalled a particular script in his mind.

--------------------

'Born into unknown family

His fate apparently low

But his destiny is far greater

Than anyone could know

Of Heaven and Earth he shall be known

His path obscured with shroud

He shall become the Chosen One

But he shall not be proud

Defeating a cell will attract god's notice

She will help him along the road

His Saiyan powers will make him strong

Leading him to his new abode

But Cell will return, and with him bring

Destruction to this land

Lest this one man stand up to him

And lead him to gods' hand

He shall become victorious

But at an awesome cost

He will pay the price of the immortal

From us he shall be lost

Only love can bring him back

Of one who holds him dear

Then the gods will return him to us

And hold him ever near

But he shall turn, becoming bad

Showing only one solution

He shall renounce his Saiyan strength

And keep this resolution

But strange visitors to this land

Will show him who he should be

Open other roads for him to know

And give him the master key

He shall wield this against his foes

His heart will burn so bright

Facing the galaxy conqueror

And defeat him with his might

But one day he will face himself

And find he is inferior

Until he releases hidden powers

And proves himself superior

His greatest task of all will be

To destroy the Slider's flaw

Which turns it evil beyond compare

And strong forevermore

Save existence, destroy the Slider

Corrupted malevolence

Greatest task means greatest power

Evolutionary portence

Heaven and Earth apart will fall

Letting evil continue more

But combined their might will flow together

Commit the One to lore

Grow supreme then be a god

Use the greatest power

Battle continues, no-one wins

Until the final hour'

--------------------

            And nothing more.

--------------------

            The time was now nine months later. Tenchi had saved the Multiverse yet again, this time against larger odds than it was with K'oko. Tenchi was currently walking with Sasami, who was now twelve. She had matured fairly quickly, but her appearance hadn't changed much. If anything, she was even cuter now.

            Tenchi walked alongside her, holding her hand. He had been busy thinking about the things that had happened over the past few months, all beginning with the reappearance of... Well, he didn't need to go into that again. The good thing was that he was all right now, and so was everyone else. He pushed away all these thoughts and walked on, enjoying life in general.

            Sasami stopped, causing Tenchi to turn and face her.

            "Tenchi, do you like me?" the young girl asked.

            "That's a silly question, Sasami," Tench replied. "Of course I like you. In fact, I like you a lot more than that. I love you, actually."

            "That's not what I mean, Tenchi," Sasami said. "Do you really love me?"

            "Sasami, what's all this about?"

            "Well, I remember you saying that you knew your true choice. It isn't me, is it?" she said, fully expecting it not to be.

            "Why don't you think so?"

            "It's just the way you've been acting," Sasami said. "Sure, you've been really nice to me, and you always make me laugh, but I don't think you really love me. Do you?"

            "Well..."

            "You don't," Sasami finished for him. "That's alright. I know I'm just a girl, and the others are all grown-ups. You should choose one of them, instead of me."

            "Sasami, are you upset?" Tenchi asked.

            Sasami shook her head. "Nope. As long as you're still around, I'm happy. And I'm also happy for whoever you did choose."

            Tenchi sensed Sasami's mind. He couldn't detect any relevant amount of sadness. She wasn't lying when she said she didn't mind.

            "Sasami, you know that just because you're a girl doesn't mean I don't care for you as much as any of the others," Tenchi said. "But you're very mature for your age. You're also incredibly perceptive. The others haven't begun to figure out my true choice yet, yet you know it isn't you."

            "So who is it?"

            "I can't say," Tenchi said, leaning against a tree. "I know what girls are like. You'll just tell everyone."

            "No I won't," Sasami said defiantly. "I promise I won't tell anyone else, not even Ryo-Ohki."

            "Are you sure?"

            "Positive."

            "Okay then. But only because I trust you." Tenchi leaned down and whispered something into Sasami's ear. Sasami pulled away in surprise.

            "Really? Is that the truth?" she exclaimed.

            "Really. Now remember, I don't want you to tell anyone."

            Sasami fidgeted for a second. "But I have to tell someone," she burst out.

            "No you don't. I'll tell them, when I'm ready. Don't ruin the surprise for them."

            Sasami was conflicted for a moment, and then sighed. "Okay, Tenchi. I promise I won't tell another living being."

            "Good girl. Come on then. Let's keep going."

            They walked on, hand in hand again.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

A final word from our author:

            Hi! This is the author speaking. I just want to thank everyone for their continuing support of this fiction. I do have another two sagas set after this, and I'm going to put them up reardless. I shall definitely reveal Tenchi's true decision in one of those two sagas, instead of hazing around it like just above. Just remember that they will be based on everything that has happened in this fiction, and NOT in the OVA's or anything else. Obviously most of the facts are the same, but anything not specifically mentioned here probably did not happen. I didn't go into description too much, as I am assuming that those who read this have already seen 'Tenchi Muyo!', and know vaguely what happens in the show. Speaking of the show, the television programme the group were watching in 'Journey' was the actual 'Tenchi Muyo!' OVA series. I just added that in for a bit of fun. It doesn't mean anything.

            Finally, another arigato to everyone who helped me along the way with this, including all on the message board at MoreTenchiPics.com. Until the next saga, may the Goddesses guide you to your destination, and sayonara!


	13. The next saga

From spiritual to magical...  
  
This story continues with "Supplement DB", also in the same section as this one. 


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